The AI boom has dominated the stock market narrative in 2026, with companies linked to the data centre and artificial intelligence infrastructure theme delivering some of the biggest gains. HFCL, one of the major beneficiaries of that theme, had raced ahead with gains of up to 230% this year. But a company riding a very different wave has now overtaken it.
Welspun Corp, a global leader in manufacturing large-diameter welded line pipes used for oil, gas and water transmission, has surged 236% in 2026, overtaking HFCL’s mammoth 230% gain and emerging as the best-performing stock on the Nifty 500 index.
