Indian benchmark indices opened Friday's session on a strong note, with the BSE Sensex rallying over 300 points to cross 77,500 and the NSE Nifty50 climbing nearly 100 points to cross 24,150 around 9:15 AM. According to latest reports, the Sensex was trading 190.70 points or 0.25% higher at 77,377.57 and the Nifty gained 92.95 points or 0.39% to 24,165.70 in the pre-open session at 9:01 AM. The positive momentum comes after a largely flat session on Thursday, when the Nifty50 ended marginally lower and the Sensex closed almost unchanged. The GIFT Nifty was trading around 30 points higher, indicating that benchmark indices could open in the green as investors assess a mix of global headwinds and domestic factors.
The Nifty IT index emerged as the top sectoral performer, rising 1.58% to 28,983, driven by strong buying in technology stocks ahead of quarterly earnings. According to latest reports, HCL Technologies, LTIMindtree, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Infosys gained between 1% and 3% as investors positioned themselves ahead of quarterly results from Wipro and Tech Mahindra. The Nifty Consumer Durables index also advanced 1.53% to 39,532, supported by buying in discretionary consumption stocks. However, banking counters faced continued pressure with the Nifty Bank slipping 124 points or 0.21% to 57,634 as weakness in insurance and financial services counters offset gains in select lenders.
Several individual stocks showed exceptional performance during Thursday's session. MRPL surged 11.3% to ₹175.30 after reporting a turnaround in profitability for Q1FY27, accompanied by a near doubling of revenue. Mrs Bectors Food jumped 11.65% to ₹189.20 after Abakkus Investment Managers acquired 29.4 lakh shares through a bulk deal. Dixon Technologies rallied as much as 7% to ₹14,680 after the Union Cabinet approved manufacturing schemes worth about ₹1.9 lakh crore for mobile phones and semiconductors. In contrast, ICICI Lombard fell around 12% after its quarterly net profit declined 46% due to higher claims, expenses and weaker investment income.
Emmvee Photovoltaic Power emerged as a standout performer, jumping 8.91% after reporting record Q1 FY27 earnings driven by higher production volumes and improved cell integration. According to Business Standard, the company's net profit surged 102.61% YoY to ₹380.30 crore in Q1 FY27, while revenue from operations increased 51.34% YoY to ₹1,555.50 crore. In contrast, HDFC Life Insurance Company declined 0.54% despite reporting a 11.89% YoY increase in standalone net profit to ₹611.19 crore in Q1 FY27. The insurer's net premium income rose 14.39% YoY to ₹16,547.97 crore. ITC Hotels reported a 19.6% year-on-year increase in Q1 EBITDA to ₹292.3 crore with EBITDA margin improving to 31.2% from 30% a year earlier.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading equities worth ₹4,205.56 crore on Thursday, according to provisional NSE data, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided crucial support by purchasing shares worth ₹2,986.41 crore. Global markets came under pressure after a technology-led sell-off on Wall Street, with Japan's Nikkei 225 declining nearly 3% and Hong Kong futures pointing to a weaker opening. The weakness followed broad-based selling in semiconductor stocks, which weighed heavily on investor confidence. Brent crude hovered around $84.81 per barrel near the psychologically important $85 mark, while the Indian rupee weakened slightly to 96.35 per dollar. Market participants are expected to remain focused on corporate earnings, institutional flows and commodity prices, with investors closely tracking global market trends for further direction.
