Sensex Jumps Over 700 Points as IT and Private Banks Lead, Broader Markets Lag

Indian equities remained firmly bullish on Friday, with Large-Cap stocks powering the benchmarks higher despite weak global cues. At around 2 pm, the Sensex traded near 77,900, gaining roughly 710 points or 0.92 per cent, while the Nifty 50 hovered around 24,250, up nearly 177 points or 0.74 per cent. Reliance Industries, private Banks and information technology heavyweights accounted for a large part of the gains.

The strength, however, was not evenly distributed across the market. The Nifty Bank climbed 508 points or 0.88 per cent to 58,089.95, supported by buying in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank ahead of their Quarterly Results. In contrast, the Nifty Midcap 100 declined around 0.73 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped approximately 0.83 per cent, highlighting a clear shift towards index heavyweights.

Sectorally, the Nifty IT index advanced about 1.6 per cent after encouraging numbers from Tech Mahindra, while the Nifty Private Bank index gained around 1.4 per cent. The Nifty Auto index rose more than 1 per cent, led by Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor and M&M. On the weaker side, the Nifty Pharma index fell around 1 per cent, while the Nifty FMCG index traded nearly 0.6 per cent lower. Overall, 12 of the 16 major sectoral indices remained in positive territory.

Among individual stocks, Jio Financial Services rallied nearly 6 per cent after its consolidated Q1 net profit jumped 155 per cent year-on-year to Rs 830 crore. Tech Mahindra gained around 3 per cent after its revenue and margins exceeded estimates, supported by healthy deal wins. CEAT crashed more than 9 per cent after consolidated net profit plunged 96.4 per cent to Rs 4 crore due to foreign-exchange losses. Wipro declined about 2.5 per cent after its quarterly performance missed expectations and brokerages flagged a weak near-term growth outlook.

Institutional flows remained a point of caution. In the previous session, foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Indian shares worth Rs 4,205.56 crore. Domestic institutional investors partially absorbed the selling with net purchases of Rs 2,986.41 crore.

Global markets painted a weaker picture. The previous Wall Street session ended lower, with the Nasdaq falling 1.47 per cent, the S&P 500 declining 0.51 per cent and the Dow slipping 0.20 per cent amid heavy selling in Semiconductor stocks. Japan’s Nikkei dropped more than 4 per cent, while Brent crude traded near USD 84.6 per barrel as tensions in West Asia remained elevated.

For the remainder of the session, Nifty’s immediate support is placed around 24,130 to 24,150, while resistance is visible near 24,380 to 24,400. Reliance Industries’ results, followed by quarterly numbers from HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank over the weekend, will remain important triggers alongside crude oil prices and geopolitical developments. This is Market commentary rather than a recommendation to buy or sell securities.

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