Indian equity indices rebounded from a sluggish start to end higher on Friday, with banking and financial stocks leading the gains, despite concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East dampening sentiment. The indices, however, posted a weekly loss owing to US rate worries.
The BSE benchmark Sensex surged 599 points or 0.83% to close at 73,088. Meanwhile, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 151 points or 0.69% to finish at 22,147.
Among the Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, M&M, HDFC Bank, JSW Steel, and Maruti emerged as the top gainers, registering gains of 2-3%.
Conversely, Infosys, HCL Tech, and TCS closed 0.6% to 1.2% lower, resulting in a 0.4% decline in the IT index. Infosys forecasted annual revenue below expectations after falling short of March-quarter revenue estimates.
Nifty, Pharma, Media, PSU Bank, Realty, and Oil & Gas sectors also ended the session in the red. Additionally, the broader small and midcap segments, which are more domestically focused, witnessed losses of 0.6% and 0.1%, respectively.
Network 18 Media fell 1.5%, while TV18 Broadcast dropped 2.6%, after reporting a wider net loss in the fourth quarter of FY24. The stocks were among the top losers in the media index, which fell 1%.
The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE surged by Rs 0.6 lakh crore to Rs 393.48 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bears. About 2,074 stocks gained, 1,715 declined, and 114 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Expert Views
Despite global weakness, Indian markets staged a strong recovery driven by largecap stocks, buoyed by the expectation of limited prospects of escalation following Israel’s actions against Iran, said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
“Global sentiment remains subdued due to a robust US economy and persistent inflation, dampening hopes of a near-term Fed rate cut. Mid & smallcaps saw weakness as Q4 earnings expectations remained muted,” Nair said.
Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said, “On the daily chart, a piercing line pattern has formed, often indicating a bullish reversal following a correction. Additionally, the indicator has surpassed the 55EMA, a short-term moving average. A close above this moving average signifies a positive short-term trend. Looking ahead, bulls may drive the Nifty’s recovery towards 22,300. Furthermore, a decisive breakthrough above 22,300 could trigger a sustained rally towards 22,600. On the downside, support on a closing basis is situated at 22,000.”
Global Markets
The MSCI All Country stock index was down 0.38% to 746.54 points, retreating further from its lifetime high of 785.62 points a month ago, though still up about 3% for the year.
In Europe, the STOXX index of 600 leading companies was down 0.7%. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 2.6%, while Taiwan’s stock benchmark fell 3.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9%.
Oil Slips
Oil slipped on Friday after prices spiked earlier on reports that Israel had attacked Iran as market fears of a major escalation to hostilities in the Mideast appeared to ease.
After the benchmark contracts jumped over $3 in the session, Brent futures were down 46 cents, or 0.5%, at $86.65 a barrel by 3:45 pm IST. The most active U.S. West Texas Intermediate contract was down 34 cents, or 0.4%, to $82.39.
Rupee Ends Higher
The Indian rupee recouped opening losses to end higher on Friday, despite weakness across regional peers, helped by possible intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and dollar sales from foreign banks. The rupee ended at 83.4700 to the US dollar, up from 83.5375 in the previous session.
(With inputs from agencies)
