The Indian stock market finished Friday’s session with modest gains as early optimism fizzled out towards the close amid weak contributions from heavyweights, even as tech and PSU stocks held up.
The Nifty 50 closed the session with a gain of 0.11% at 25,694, while the Sensex finished the trade at 83,590 points, 0.25% higher than the previous close.
The broader markets, however, closed mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index rallying 0.16% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index tanking 0.40%, indicating that investors are taking calculated bets amid the ongoing earnings season.
Sector-wise, the Nifty IT index led the rally, surging 3.34%, largely driven by heavyweight Infosys, followed by the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Realty indices, which rose 1.2% and 0.35%, respectively.
On the losing side, pharma stocks led the decline, with the Nifty Pharma index shedding 1.3%. This was followed by the Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Metal, and Nifty Auto indices, all of which fell between 0.35% and 1.11%.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said, "The equity markets witnessed positive momentum during the session, driven by better Q3 results from IT and mid-segment banking stocks. However, profit booking towards the close capped the rally, resulting only in marginal gains for the market."
"The IT sector outperformed, supported by an upward revision in revenue growth projections from a leading industry bellwether, coupled with expectations of increased technology spending. Meanwhile, investor focus also shifted to banking counters, as early results reflected notable improvements in asset quality and margin profiles, further strengthening sentiment in the sector," he further added.
