Stock markets surge on buying in blue-chips; Sensex jumps 965 points

MUMBAI: Market benchmark indices ended sharply higher on Friday, with the Sensex climbing 964.58 points and the Nifty reaching the 24,330 level, led by buying in blue-chip Reliance Industries, bank and IT stocks.

After a subdued ending in the previous trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex bounced back 964.58 points, or 1.25 per cent, to settle at 78,151.45. During the day, it surged 1,095.68 points, or 1.41 per cent, to 78,282.55.

The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 261.55 points, or 1.09 per cent, to end at 24,334.30.

From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra jumped 3.91 per cent after it reported a 28.4 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for the June quarter to Rs 1,465 crore, and expressed confidence about the demand environment.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance were also among the winners.

Reliance Industries is scheduled to announce its June quarter earnings later in the day.

Sun Pharma, Trent, Bharti Airtel and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.

"There is a shift in market momentum, with strong traction moving toward large-cap stocks, led by the IT and banking sectors. This is supported by optimism around business updates and Q1 earnings expectations," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

The trend appears to be driven largely by domestic institutional investors rotating out of expensive mid and small-cap stocks and into more attractively valued large caps that offer a better risk-reward profile, he added.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.79 per cent to USD 85.52 per barrel.

"Indian equity markets ended the week on a strong note, extending their recovery as broad-based buying in heavyweight banking, financial, and IT stocks helped benchmark indices outperform weak global cues. Investor sentiment remained resilient despite persistent concerns over elevated AI valuations, ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and heightened volatility in global markets," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

Expectations of healthy quarterly earnings from index heavyweights, including Reliance Industries and leading private sector banks, further supported the positive momentum, he added.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended significantly lower. Markets in South Korea were closed on Friday.

Markets in Europe were quoting in negative territory in mid-session deals.

US markets ended lower on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,205.56 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

On Thursday, the Sensex edged up 1.44 points to settle at 77,186.87. The Nifty dipped 5.75 points, or 0.02 per cent, to end at 24,072.75.