Indian equity benchmarks achieved new milestones on Friday, with the SENSEX rising as much as 785 points and the NIFTY50 index touching an intraday high of 24,188, as reported by Upstox Securities. This represents a significant escalation from earlier gains, with the BSE Sensex starting near 77,400 and soaring more than 650 points in the morning session, while the NSE Nifty50 jumped nearly 177 points and crossed 24,100 as of 9:15 AM. The sustained rally reflects continued momentum from the previous session's strong performance, with the NIFTY50 crossing 24,100 marking a significant psychological milestone for Indian markets.
US software stocks extended their rally overnight, providing positive momentum for Indian IT shares ahead of Friday's trading session. According to reports from Guggenheim, the brokerage's bullish artificial intelligence view continues to lift the sector, signalling potential positive cues for Indian IT companies. The rally was driven by optimism that fears around artificial intelligence disrupting the software sector have been overdone, with investors showing renewed confidence in the industry's resilience. As per Bloomberg, Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci wrote that "valuations imply many software companies will decline into perpetuity because of AI," but the brokerage doesn't believe this to be true, arguing that the market's worst-case assumptions don't reflect the long-term prospects of established software companies.
Accenture climbed 4.63% to $143.30, Cognizant gained 6.12% to $43.90, while IBM advanced 3.98% to $311.44 in Tuesday's US session. As reported by market sources, other software names also posted solid gains, with Salesforce rising 3.79% to $171.93 and ServiceNow adding 4.57% to $112.86. These significant gains across major software companies indicate broad-based investor confidence in the sector's prospects, with some companies posting gains as high as 7% in the latest session. The overnight rally has provided supportive cues for Asian markets, including India, as US equities finished Thursday's session on a positive note with the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.3%.
Most markets across the Asia-Pacific region opened in positive territory on Friday, with the technology-led optimism spilling over from global markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed more than 2.2%, while South Korea's Kospi jumped over 4%, extending gains after the strong performance seen in US markets. The broad-based rally reflected improved global risk appetite, particularly for technology-driven markets, setting the stage for a positive opening in Indian equities. Market participants will continue to monitor whether the momentum in global technology stocks sustains through the session, with the positive trend across major Asian markets providing additional support for Indian IT stocks.
