Sensex Soars 965 Points, Nifty Tops 24,330 on Strong IT and Banking Rally
Indian equity benchmark indices ended sharply higher on Friday, with the Sensex surging nearly 965 points and the Nifty gaining over one per cent, led by robust buying in IT and banking stocks amid optimism over business updates and expectations of healthy first-quarter earnings. The BSE Sensex settled at 78,151. 45, rising 964. 58 points or 1. 25 […]
Indian equity benchmark indices ended sharply higher on Friday, with the Sensex surging nearly 965 points and the Nifty gaining over one per cent, led by robust buying in IT and banking stocks amid optimism over business updates and expectations of healthy first-quarter earnings. The BSE Sensex settled at 78,151. 45, rising 964. 58 points or 1. 25 per cent, while the NSE Nifty 50 closed at 24,334. 30, up 261. 55 points or 1. 09 per cent. Market experts attributed the rally to a shift in investor preference towards large-cap stocks, particularly in the IT and banking sectors, which are seen as offering attractive valuations and better risk-reward prospects. Among sectoral indices on the NSE, all sectors barring pharma, metal and consumer durables ended in positive territory. Nifty IT gained 1. 75 per cent, Nifty Auto advanced 1. 24 per cent, while Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank posted strong gains, with the latter rising over two per cent. In the commodity markets, Brent crude prices remained elevated, rising two per cent to USD 85. 88 per barrel at the time of reporting. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee continued to remain under pressure against the US dollar and was trading at Rs 96. 28 per dollar. Asian markets ended on a weaker note, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 declining 4. 89 per cent to 63,720, Singapore’s Straits Times slipping 0. 54 per cent to 5,509 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 2. 09 per cent to close at 24,497.