Stock Markets February 4, 2026

Indian equities close higher as energy, consumer and power names lead gains

Nifty 50 inches up 0.19% as select oil and consumer-durable stocks outpace heavyweight IT declines

By Jordan Park INFY
Indian equities close higher as energy, consumer and power names lead gains
INFY

India's equity benchmarks ended modestly higher, supported by advances in Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Power segments. While mid- and small-cap names like Eternal and Trent posted strong gains, large-cap information technology firms suffered sizeable declines. Volatility gauges eased and commodities swung higher across gold and oil contracts.

Key Points

  • Benchmarks closed modestly higher - Nifty 50 +0.19% and Sensex +0.09% - driven by gains in Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Power sectors.
  • Significant divergences within large caps: mid-sized names such as Eternal and Trent posted double-digit percentage gains while major IT firms Infosys, TCS and HCL Technologies recorded notable declines.
  • Volatility eased with the India VIX down 3.61% to 12.43, while commodities moved higher - gold jumped and both WTI and Brent crude gained.

Indian shares finished in positive territory on Wednesday, with sector strength in Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Power providing upward momentum for benchmark indexes.

At the close on the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty 50 rose 0.19%. The BSE Sensex 30 also finished higher, adding 0.09% by the end of trade.

Among Nifty constituents, the session's top performers included Eternal Ltd (NSE:ETEA), which climbed 5.06% - a gain of 14.15 points - to end at 293.95. Trent Ltd (NSE:TREN) advanced 5.00%, rising 191.20 points to finish at 4,014.00. Oil And Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (NSE:ONGC) was up 3.50%, or 9.00 points, closing at 266.00 in late trade.

Conversely, several large-cap IT names led declines on the index. Infosys Ltd (NSE:INFY) fell 7.37%, a drop of 122.00 points, to close at 1,534.00. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (NSE:TCS) declined 6.99% or 225.60 points to finish at 2,999.70. HCL Technologies Ltd (NSE:HCLT) lost 4.62%, slipping 78.30 points to close at 1,617.00.

The BSE Sensex 30 reflected a similar mix of movers. Eternal Ltd (BO:ETEA) was the top riser on the index, up 5.04% to 293.75. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (BO:PGRD) gained 2.31% to settle at 289.80, and NTPC Ltd (BO:NTPC) added 2.27% to close at 366.70.

On the downside for the Sensex, Infosys Ltd (BO:INFY) was down 7.25% at 1,534.90 in late trade. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (BO:TCS) lost 6.96% to settle at 2,999.40, while HCL Technologies Ltd (BO:HCLT) declined 4.53% to 1,617.00 at the close.

Market breadth on the NSE showed more advancing issues than decliners, with 1,683 stocks rising and 814 falling; 39 ended unchanged. On the BSE, 2,566 stocks rose, 1,416 declined and 155 were unchanged.

Volatility, as measured by the India VIX for Nifty 50 options, eased 3.61% to 12.43 by the close.

Commodities saw notable moves. Gold Futures for April delivery rose 2.89%, gaining $142.61 to trade at $5,077.61 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for March delivery increased 0.85% or $0.54 to $63.75 a barrel, while the April Brent contract rose 0.68% or $0.46 to $67.79 a barrel.

On currency crosses, USD/INR ticked lower by 0.03% to 90.37. EUR/INR fell 0.01% to 106.85. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.15% at 97.45.


Note: the report included a closing promotional passage encouraging readers to consider institutional-grade data paired with AI-driven insights when evaluating investment opportunities for 2026.

Risks

  • Concentrated weakness among large-cap IT stocks (Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies) poses a risk to overall market momentum and could weigh on the broader market if the sector continues to underperform.
  • Movement in commodity prices and currency pairs - including rising gold and oil prices and small moves in USD/INR and EUR/INR - introduces uncertainty for sectors sensitive to commodity and forex swings, such as energy and export-oriented businesses.
  • Despite the modest index gains, market breadth shows a mix of advancing and declining issues; this uneven participation could lead to heightened sector-level volatility.

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