Story
Indian Benchmarks Nifty 50 and Sensex Gain Over 1% Led by IT Stocks
Indian equity benchmarks closed with strong gains on Friday, as a rally in information technology and banking stocks propelled the main indices higher. According to closing data, the NSE Nifty 50 index rose 1.09%, while the BSE Sensex 30 climbed 1.25%.
Sector and Stock Movers
The advance was led by a surge in the IT, Banking, and Real Estate sectors. Technology stocks were among the top performers, with Tech Mahindra Ltd. standing out as a leader on both indices. The company's shares gained 4.02% on the Nifty 50.
Other notable gainers on the Nifty 50 included:
- Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., which added 3.59%.
- Jio Financial Services Ltd., which was up 2.95%.
AdIn contrast, some commodity and pharmaceutical stocks faced headwinds. Hindalco Industries Ltd. was the session's worst performer on the Nifty, falling 1.49%, followed by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., which declined 1.15%.
Broader Market Signals
Despite the strong performance of the headline indices, the broader market sentiment was more cautious. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones by a margin of 1636 to 917, indicating that the day's gains were concentrated in large-cap, index-heavyweight companies rather than being market-wide.
Adding to the cautious tone, the India VIX, a measure of the market's expectation of near-term volatility, rose 2.74% to 13.23. An increase in the VIX during a market rally can suggest that some investors are hedging against potential future turbulence.
Read next
More on Stocks
FTC Orders Walmart, Uber, Delta to Disclose Data on Personalized Pricing
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is demanding nine major companies, including leading retail, travel, and gig economy firms, to provide information on how they use consumer data for setting individual prices and wages.
Google Launches Gemini 4 Carbon AI Model to Bolster Cybersecurity Capabilities
Alphabet's Google has unveiled Gemini 4 Carbon, its latest AI model specifically designed for advanced cybersecurity tasks like vulnerability detection and secure code generation. The launch escalates competition with rivals OpenAI and Anthropic in the enterprise AI market.
Oracle Shares Surge After Unveiling $225 Billion Revenue Target for 2030
Oracle stock rose sharply after the company presented a long-term financial outlook targeting at least $225 billion in annual revenue by fiscal 2030, driven by its expanding AI infrastructure business.
DOJ Scrutinizes Nvidia's $12.9B Hugging Face Deal Amid Broader Antitrust Probe, Sources Say
The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly examining Nvidia's planned $12.93 billion acquisition of AI platform Hugging Face as part of a wider, ongoing antitrust investigation into the chipmaker's market conduct.