Nifty, Sensex Hit 52-Week Highs; Reliance, ICICI Bank Lead Gains Ahead of Q2 Results

Market Update at 4:15 PM: On Friday, October 17, Indian equity benchmark indices ended 0.5 per cent higher, extending gains for the third consecutive session. The Nifty 50 and Sensex touched one-year highs, led by index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank ahead of their Q2 results.

At the close, the Nifty 50 advanced 124.55 points, or 0.49 per cent, to settle at 25,709.85, while the Sensex rose by 484.53 points, or 0.58 per cent, ending at 83,952.19. Meanwhile, India’s fear index, India VIX, surged nearly 7 per cent on Friday. On a weekly basis, both indices gained 1.7 per cent, marking the biggest weekly rise in the last 16 weeks and ending three consecutive weeks in green.

Among sectors, six out of 11 closed in positive territory. India’s banking index, Bank Nifty, and the broader financials index, Nifty Financial Services, hit lifetime highs ahead of key earnings from HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank on Saturday. In contrast, the Nifty IT index fell 1.63 per cent, dragged by Wipro and Infosys on margin concerns despite reporting better-than-expected revenue for the second quarter. The broader markets also followed a negative trend, with the Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices closing lower.

Asian Paints shares jumped 4 per cent, supported by a drop in oil prices to a five-month low, as oil is a key raw material for paint makers. Infosys slipped over 2 per cent despite reporting better-than-expected revenue for the September quarter. Nestle India rose 1 per cent after reporting a rise in sales and volume growth, while Zee Entertainment declined 3.6 per cent following a sharp drop in second-quarter profit.

The Nifty FMCG index advanced 1.37 per cent, extending gains for the third consecutive session and rebounding from a four-month low, up 3 per cent over the week. Conversely, Nifty IT declined 0.63 per cent, with Wipro falling over 5 per cent amid margin concerns.

Reliance Industries added 30.70 points, ICICI Bank contributed 30.02 points, and Bharti Airtel gained 27.03 points. On the downside, Wipro subtracted 24.03 points, Infosys 8.17 points, and Eternal 7.74 points.

The broader market indices ended lower on Friday, with the Mid-Cap 100 down 0.57 per cent and the Small-Cap 100 marginally down 0.05 per cent. Market breadth favoured declining stocks, with 1,873 shares falling, 1,201 advancing, and 87 unchanged out of 3,161 traded on the NSE. A total of 81 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 86 hit 52-week lows. Additionally, 82 stocks were locked in Upper Circuits, whereas 51 were in Lower Circuits.

Market Update at 12:15 PM: Indian stock markets traded higher on Friday after a weak start, recovering from early losses triggered by negative cues from Asian markets and rising gold prices amid fresh US-China tensions. The decline in crude oil prices, with Brent crude slipping to around USD 60 per barrel, supported market sentiment.

Around 12:00 PM, the BSE Sensex stood at 84,062.51, up 594.85 points or 0.71 per cent, while the Nifty50 index was at 25,759.9, higher by 174.6 points or 0.68 per cent.

Among the Top Gainers on the BSE were Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M). In contrast, Infosys, Eternal, and HCLTech were the major drags.

In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap index rose 0.06 per cent, and the Nifty SmallCap index gained 0.3 per cent. Sector-wise, the Nifty IT index declined 1.13 per cent, emerging as the top sectoral loser, followed by the Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank indices, both down 0.3 per cent each.

Market Update at 10:00 AM: India's equity benchmarks opened marginally lower on Friday, pausing after a recent rally, with losses led by Infosys and Wipro despite both companies surpassing September-quarter revenue estimates.

The Nifty 50 fell 0.15 per cent to 25,546.85, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.16 per cent to 83,331.3 as of 9:24 a.m. IST. 

Broader indices also saw small declines, with the Smallcap losing 0.1 per cent and the Midcap down 0.4 per cent.

The IT sub-index fell 1.25 per cent, led by Wipro, which dropped 4.5 per cent despite exceeding second-quarter revenue estimates. 

The Nifty and Sensex ended Thursday at three-month highs and are now less than 3 per cent below their record peaks reached in September 2024. The recent rally has been fuelled by expectations of an earnings rebound and hopes for domestic and US rate cuts.

Pre-Market Update at 7:30 AM: Equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open on a cautious note on Friday, October 17, following weakness in global markets amid rising US-China trade tensions. Trends on the GIFT Nifty indicated a muted start for the Indian markets, with the index trading 37 points higher at 25,605 at 7:15 AM.

In early Asian trades, markets moved lower, while US equities closed in the red overnight as escalating tensions between the US and China dampened investor sentiment. India’s major IT companies Infosys and Wipro announced their Q2 FY26 results yesterday after market hours. Post results, Infosys ADR fell 2.25 per cent on the NYSE, while Wipro ADR gained 1.12 per cent.

Thirteen major companies are set to release their Q2 FY26 results today, including Reliance Industries, JSW Steel, Hindustan Zinc, Polycab India, Dixon Technologies, REC, JSW Energy, Havells India, Oracle Financial Services Software, AU Small Finance Bank, Bank of India, 360 ONE WAM, and LT Technology Services.

On Thursday, October 16, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 997.29 crore for the second consecutive session. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also remained net buyers, acquiring equities worth Rs 4,076.20 crore, marking their 37th straight session of inflows.

Indian equities extended their gains for the second consecutive session, with the Nifty 50 rising 1.03 per cent to 25,585.30 and the Sensex gaining 1.04 per cent to 83,467.66. The Nifty touched its highest level since June 30, posting its sharpest single-day gain in nearly four months. The rally was led by private banks following Axis Bank’s results, along with support from dovish comments by US Fed Chair Jerome Powell and easing trade concerns over Russian oil imports. Rate-sensitive sectors such as auto and realty rose over 1 per cent, while the Nifty IT index edged higher despite a slight dip in Infosys ahead of its earnings. Broader indices like Nifty Midcap and Smallcap also ended marginally higher. The India VIX climbed over 3 per cent during the session.

On Wall Street, US stocks ended lower as financial shares faced selling pressure amid renewed fears of a credit crisis and escalating trade tensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 301.07 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 45,952.24. The S&P 500 declined 41.98 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 6,629.08, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 107.54 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 22,562.54.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to hold another summit focused on the Ukraine conflict, likely to be hosted in Budapest within two weeks. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller expressed support for another rate cut at the upcoming policy meeting, while Governor Stephen Miran backed deeper rate cuts in future meetings.

Gold continued its strong momentum, heading toward its best weekly gain in 17 years. Spot gold rose 0.9 per cent to USD 4,364.79 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of USD 4,378.69. On the MCX, gold futures settled at Rs 1,29,852 per 10 grams, up 2.08 per cent. The US dollar index remained stable at 98.23 but was on track for its sharpest weekly decline in three months. Crude oil prices fell slightly, with Brent futures easing 0.13 per cent to USD 60.98 per barrel and WTI futures dipping 0.16 per cent to USD 57.37 per barrel.

For today, Sammaan Capital will remain on the F&O ban list.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.