Sensex, Nifty end week higher as financial stocks rally; IT shares see profit booking

NEW DELHI: Indian equity benchmarks ended the week in the green on Friday as positive momentum sustained trading session gains. The BSE Sensex settled at 78,094.64 points, up 166.49 points or 0.21 per cent, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 66.45 points or 0.27 per cent to close at 24,383.60 points.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, noted that while positive momentum continued, profit booking emerged as caution persisted amid elevated yields and potential rate-hike concerns. “The sustainability of the recovery will depend largely on the ongoing earnings season, which is currently outperforming forecasts, and on a reduction in global risks. The domestic IT index witnessed profit booking following its recent rally,” Nair stated.

Financial and auto stocks led the gains, with Bajaj Finance surging 8.32 per cent, Bajaj Finserv rising 6.37 per cent, and Jio Financial Services adding 3.71 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra, Shriram Finance, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles also ended higher.

Nair highlighted that domestic technology stocks witnessed selling following their recent rally. “A rebound in global chipmakers, supported by strong earnings and spending plans, eased concerns over AI valuations, putting pressure on domestic technology stocks,” Nair said.

On the downside, technology and consumer stocks faced selling pressure, with TCS falling 2.71 per cent, Eternal declining 2.58 per cent, and Wipro losing 1.38 per cent, alongside declines in Adani Enterprises and Tata Consumer Products.

Asian markets traded mostly higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 surging 3.92 per cent and Taiwan Weighted adding 7.39 per cent, while the Straits Times index fell 0.79 per cent. At the time of reporting, Brent crude was trading up 0.52 per cent at USD 87.33 per barrel, while gold slipped 1.16 per cent to USD 4,055.78.

Nair further pointed out that as the corporate reporting period progresses, market participants will monitor the breadth of the performance. “As the earnings season gathers pace, markets will seek confirmation that the recent improvement in earnings is broad-based rather than concentrated in a few sectors,” he said. (ANI)