Stock Market Today: Sensex Jumps 500 Points, Nifty Tops 24,330; HCLTech Soars 6%

Stock Market Today: Indian benchmark indices extended their gains in Friday’s afternoon session, with the Sensex climbing over 500 points and the Nifty trading above the 24,330 mark.

A sharp rally in IT stocks, led by HCLTech, along with supportive global cues, lifted market sentiment, though profit booking in banking shares capped the upside.

At 11:50 am, the BSE Sensex was up 510.21 points, or 0.66%, at 78,012.33, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 162.40 points, or 0.67%, to 24,338.10.

The broader market delivered a mixed performance. The Nifty 100 rose 0.53%, the Nifty 200 gained 0.41% and the Nifty 500 added 0.35%. However, the Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.08%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 edged up 0.09%.

Market volatility continued to ease, with India VIX falling 3.64% to 11.84, signalling improved investor confidence.

Technology stocks remained the biggest drivers of the rally. The Nifty IT index surged 2.57%, outperforming all other sectoral indices. HCLTech jumped 6.54% after announcing a $1.14 billion digital transformation deal, emerging as the top Sensex gainer. Tech Mahindra, TCS, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Eternal also traded with strong gains.

Among other sectors, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare gained 1.73% and 1.70%, respectively, while Nifty Realty rose 1.70% and Nifty Metal advanced 1.03%.

In contrast, banking stocks witnessed profit booking. The Nifty PSU Bank index declined 1.13%, making it the weakest-performing sector, while Nifty Consumer Durables slipped 0.22%.

IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, Adani Ports, Larsen & Toubro and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top losers on the Sensex.

Commenting on the market, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said India’s relative strength continues to be supported by moderating foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and the sharp decline in crude oil prices, both of which have strengthened the country’s macroeconomic outlook.

He said banking stocks continue to enjoy strong fundamentals, backed by healthy credit growth and expected inflows under the FCNR(B) deposit scheme, which could reportedly mobilise up to $60 billion and improve banks’ lending capacity.

On the IT sector, Vijayakumar noted that the recent rally has been driven largely by attractive valuations after the correction seen earlier. However, he cautioned that stronger earnings growth would be needed for the sector to sustain its momentum over the longer term.

Global sentiment also remained supportive after weaker-than-expected US labour market data fuelled hopes that the US Federal Reserve may adopt a less aggressive monetary policy. Gains across Asian markets, easing geopolitical tensions and softer crude oil prices further boosted risk appetite, providing additional support to domestic equities.