IT stocks lift Sensex, Nifty to lifetime highs; Infosys soars 8%

Domestic equity markets rallied sharply on Friday as the headline indices extended their gains to the third session. Headline Indices- Sensex and Nifty50- scaled new record highs, thanks to strong rise in the blue-chip counters following Q3 results of Infosys and TCS. However, realty and select banking counters also supported the sentiments amid the hopes of rate hikes cuts.

For the day, BSE's Sensex surged 847.27 points, or 1.18 per cent, to settle at 72,568.45. NSE's Nifty50 rallied 247.35 points, or 1.14 per cent, to end the day at 21,894.55. Broader markets underperformed the headline peers as the BSE midcap and smallcap indices managed to up about half a per cent each. Fear gauge spiked more than 2.45 per cent to 13.08-mark.

Market ended a 2-week long consolidation phase on Friday and gained over a per cent. Buoyancy in the IT heavyweights triggered a firm start, which further strengthened with buying in heavyweights across sectors. Apart from the IT pack, realty and PSU posted decent gains while auto and pharma traded subdued, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking.

"We are now eyeing 22,150 in Nifty however selective participation from banking could keep the momentum in check. We suggest focusing on other key sectors and using any pause or dip to accumulate quality names. Needless to say, the volatility would remain high due to earnings and mixed global cues so plan the overnight trades accordingly," he said.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty IT index was the standout performer for the day and surged 5.14 per cent for the day. The Nifty PSU bank index rose 2.75 per cent, while the Nifty realty index rose 1.8 per cent. Among the laggards, the Nifty media and healthcare shed half a per cent each. The Nifty pharma and auto indices also settled marginally lower.

In the Nifty50 pack, Infosys surged more than 8 per cent after Q3 earnings. ONGC gained about 5.75 per cent. IT majors including Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and LTIMindTree surged 5 per cent each. Wipro and TCS gained 4 per cent each. On the downside, Cipla, Apollo Hospital Enterprises and Bajaj Finserv dropped more than a per cent each.

Indian markets soared to new heights in a powerful rally, driven by IT heavyweights. Green shoots of recovery in the IT sector on the back of an improved outlook for BFSI in FY25 positively influenced market sentiments, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The robust performance of PSU banking stocks is underscored by the inherent synergy between their loan portfolios and the prevailing business cycle. This upward surge remained resilient amid mixed global cues on account of higher-than-expected US inflation and positive job data, which tempered expectations for an imminent rate cut by the US Fed," he said.

A total of 3,942 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 2,109 settled with gains. 1,744 stocks ended the session with cuts while 89 remained unchanged. During the day, 428 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 239 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Avanti Feeds surged about 12 per ent, Firstsource Solutions gained 11 per cent. Infibeam Avenues rallied about 10 per cent, whereas Oracle Finance Services Software gained 7 per cent. Among the laggards, Alok Industries and Metropolis Healthcare tanked over 6 per cent. Network18 Media & Investment was down 5 per cent for the day.

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