Adani Power has overtaken IT major Infosys in market capitalisation after a sharp rally of around 68% so far in 2026.
The surge in the stock has been driven by expectations of higher power demand amid soaring temperatures and a potentially intense El Niño year, which is seen boosting peak electricity consumption.
Adani Power’s market capitalisation currently stands at around Rs 4.85 lakh crore, while that of Infosys hovers near Rs 4.72 lakh crore. With the latest reshuffle, Adani Power has now overtaken Infosys to become India’s 11th most valued company.
What boosted Adani Power shares?
India is currently reeling under heatwave conditions amid the exceptionally strong El Niño year. The scale of India’s ongoing heatwave has also become visible in global temperature rankings, as data showed an extraordinary concentration of Indian cities among the world’s 100 hottest locations. As of May 22, live data showed 97 of the world’s 100 hottest cities were in India, while only three were from Nepal.
Also read: PM Modi urges citizens to stay hydrated, protect vulnerable groups amid rising heatwave
In this background, power demand soared, boosting the power stocks. Adani Power shares were no exception. The stock jumped around 3% on Wednesday to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 252 apiece on NSE. The stock surged over 13% in one week and delivered 126% returns over one year. In the longer term, the stock gained 384% in three years and 1,213% in five years.
Why Infosys shares lost their spark?
While super El Nino and resulting extreme heat boosted power stocks so far in 2026, IT stocks continued to face multiple headwinds. The sharp decline in these stocks began earlier this year after AI startup Anthropic launched plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent which could automate tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis. "We call it the ‘SaaSpocalypse,’ an apocalypse for software-as-a-service stocks," Bloomberg quoted Jeffrey Favuzza from the equity trading desk at Jefferies as saying.
While the doomsday prophets continue to debate about the future of the IT companies following fresh AI advancements, investors were quick to analyse the cheap valuations, leading to some pockets of buying, although further AI developments later dampened sentiment.
Heavyweight Infosys saw its share price tumble around 29% so far in 2026, despite strong rupee depreciation. The shares of the company have fallen around 3% in one week and 26% in one year. In the longer term, the stock has fallen 12% in three years and 17% in five years.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
