The Indian stock market ended sharply higher on Friday with the Sensex and Nifty indices rising over 1% to end the week on a strong note. Strong first-quarter earnings, strong buying in tech stocks and favorable domestic signals lifted investor sentiment despite a sharp sell-off in global markets.
The Sensex rose 965 points to close at 78,151, while the Nifty 50 rose 262 points to close at 24,334. The rally was largely driven by heavyweight stocks, although the broader market remained under pressure with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices falling to 0.4 per cent.
Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, M&M, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and Infosys rose 4% to lead the Sensex rally. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Trent, Bharti Airtel and UltraTech Cement declined to 1%.
India’s VIX index, a gauge of market volatility, rose about 3% to 13.24. Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT and Nifty Private Bank rose about 2% each, while Nifty Pharma was the only major laggard, falling over 1%.
The rally in Indian equities came despite a sharp sell-off in global markets. Japan’s Nikkei fell about 5% and Taiwan’s weighted index fell 7% as the rout for chip makers deepened. Rising oil prices amid the escalation of the Iran-US conflict further impacted sentiment. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 3%, while South Korea’s Kospi remained closed for Constitution Day.
Live Events
Shares of Jio Financial Services, meanwhile, were among the top gainers on the Nifty, rising 3% after the company reported a 155% year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 830 crore for the first quarter from Rs 325 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Notably, shares of private lenders including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank rose 4 per cent to be among the top gainers ahead of their earnings announcement scheduled for Saturday.
Here are 4 key factors behind the market’s uptrend today.
1) Growth in shares of IT companies
The sharp rise was driven by IT stocks after Tech Mahindra’s better-than-expected first-quarter results boosted investor sentiment. The company on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,465 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year 2027, up 28% year-on-year as compared to the net profit of Rs 1,140.6 crore reported in the year-ago period.
Nomura noted that Tech Mahindra beat all estimates in the first quarter of FY2027. The global brokerage, like several others, now expects the company to outperform its large-cap peers in terms of growth in FY27-28.
Also Read: Tech Mahindra Shares Jump 3% After First-Quarter Earnings Beat Estimates. What Nomura, Nuvama and other brokerages expect now
Sentiments further intensified after heavyweight HCL Tech announced a new seven-year agreement with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), expanding their existing partnership to accelerate AI-led modernization of the insurer’s technology and operations.
2) Profit dynamics in the first quarter
Reliance Industries (RIL) shares jumped over 2%, largely contributing to the sharp gains in the Sensex and Nifty. The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate is likely to release its first quarter results for the current fiscal year 2027 on Friday after market hours. Analysts expect the company to report resilient results, helped by a recovery in its refining business and continued growth in digital services, even as retail growth remains subdued and oil and gas revenues decline.
Also Read: How to Trade Reliance Industries Shares Ahead of June Quarterly Earnings?
Shares of Jio Financial Services, meanwhile, were the biggest gainer on the Nifty, rising 6% after the company reported a 155% year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 830 crore for the first quarter from Rs 325 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Notably, shares of private lenders including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank rose 2% to be among the top gainers ahead of their earnings announcement scheduled for Saturday.
3) Profit in rupees
The rupee was up 14 paise at 96.28 against the US dollar in early trade. “Market participants will continue to monitor crude oil, foreign fund flows and geopolitical developments for further direction. Technically, the rupee faces immediate resistance around 96.00 with the near-term trading range seen between 96.00-96.60,” said Jatin Trivedi, vice president, commodity and foreign exchange research, LKP Securities.
4) Technical breakthrough
According to Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Investments, consecutive days of sluggish trading coupled with a contraction in the trading range have resulted in a triangular pattern indicating a potential range breakout. However, he cautioned that directional clarity is lacking and there may be some volatility initially before the directional shift begins.
“To this end, we will continue to monitor the 23940-24270 range, aiming for upside as the starting bias,” the analyst said.
Why caution is necessary
V.K. Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investment, warned that market dislocation is likely to continue. The analyst noted that the overall weakness in the rupee seen in previous sessions weighed on the market this week.
“The mobilization of FCNR B deposits by commercial banks was below expectations, impacted by high bond yields in the US. This trend, contrary to expectations, weighed on the rupee, making it the worst performing currency in Asia this week with a depreciation of over 1%. This again impacted FII flows, which turned positive earlier this month. FIIs sold shares worth Rs 4,206 crore yesterday, which could weigh on sentiment today,” he added.
Big results from RIL today after market close as well as results from private banking majors on Saturday could weigh on the market next week, the analyst said, adding that private sector banks are expected to report good numbers.
(With participation of agencies)
(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions expressed by experts are their own. They do not reflect the views of The Economic Times)