Mumbai, July 17: Market benchmark indices ended sharply higher on Friday, with the Sensex climbing 964.58 points and the Nifty reaching the 24,330 level, propelled by buying in blue-chip Reliance Industries, bank and IT stocks.
Additionally, a strengthening rupee against the US dollar improved sentiment, even as the broader market remained predominantly negative due to weak global cues, traders said.
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.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark climbed 582.06 points, or 0.75 per cent, and the Nifty went up by 127.4 points, or 0.52 per cent.
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.
The BSE SmallCap Select index declined 0.32 per cent, and the MidCap Select index dipped 0.07 per cent.
Among sectors, Private Banks Index climbed 1.81 per cent, Top 10 Banks jumped 1.78 per cent, MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (1.65 per cent), Bankex (1.58 per cent), IT (1.38 per cent), Focused IT(1.28 per cent) and Financial Services (1.20 per cent).
Commodities, Industrials, Telecommunication and Metal were the laggards.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.79 per cent to USD 85.52 per barrel.
Expectations of healthy quarterly earnings from index heavyweights, including Reliance Industries and leading private sector banks, further supported the positive momentum, experts said.
Asian shares skidded Friday, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 down 5 per cent as heavy selling of computer chipmakers and other AI-related shares dragged markets lower.
South Korean markets were closed Friday, but shares in Taiwan also fell more than 5 per cent.
Stocks related to artificial intelligence have been under pressure for weeks because of worries that their prices have shot too high and that voracious demand for computer memory and processors may not be sustainable if AI ends up not producing as much profit and productivity as promised.
Oil prices surged as fighting in the Middle East intensified, while US futures slipped.
The Nikkei lost 5.8 per cent to 62,945.97, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 2 per cent to 24,514.29.
The Shanghai Composite index was 1.6 per cent lower at 3,818.59.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7 per cent to 8,775.70.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.5 per cent even though nearly three out of every four stocks in the index rose after more of the country’s biggest companies reported better earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.5 per cent.
Nvidia fell 2.4 per cent, making it the heaviest weight on the index. Other stocks that have benefited from strong demand for AI also sank, giving back some of their stellar gains.
Micron Technology fell 5.6 per cent to shave its gain for the year so far below 199 per cent. SanDisk fell 12.6 per cent but is nevertheless up 494 per cent for the year. Western Digital sank 9.2 per cent but is still up 171 per cent for the year.
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. (PTI)
