Indian benchmark indices closed the trading session on Friday with robust gains, primarily driven by a strong performance in Information Technology stocks. The Sensex concluded the day higher by 622.00 points or 0.78 per cent, reaching 80,519.34, while the Nifty ended by 186.20 points or 0.77 per cent, closing at 24,502.20.
In contrast to the morning session, where both midcap and smallcap stocks outperformed the headline indices, the broader market saw a reversal in trends later in the day. The midcap segment declined by 0.2 per cent, while the smallcap segment registered a 0.1 per cent decrease.
In the previous trading session on Thursday, the BSE Sensex concluded the session with a decrease of 27 points, settling at 79,897. In contrast, the NSE Nifty50 ended at 24,316, showing a decline of 8.5 points.
Today's session was primarily driven by the IT sector, which surged nearly 5 per cent. The top five gainers on the Nifty were all from the IT segment, with gains reaching up to 7 per cent, led by TCS. This surge is significant following TCS's Q1 results exceeding analyst expectations, resulting in optimistic assessments of the stock. This positive momentum rippled across all stocks in the index, fueling a sharp rally throughout.
Stock Performance
TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech and Axis Bank were among the top gainers on BSE Sensex, while Maruti, Asian Paints, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank and Titan were among the top gainers.
Among the top performers on the Nifty were TCS, Wipro, LTI, Mindtree, Infosys, and HCL Technologies, all showing significant gains. Conversely, the list of losers included Maruti Suzuki, Divis Labs, BPCL, Coal India, and Asian Paints.
Rupee Movement
The Indian rupee strengthened on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar following US inflation data that raised expectations of Federal Reserve policy easing. However, demand for dollars from importers limited the rupee's gains. The rupee closed at 83.5350 against the U.S. dollar, improving marginally from its previous session close of 83.56.