- Indian equities ended higher Friday, led by IT and metal stocks.
- Financial firms reported mixed quarterly results; some profits doubled.
- Broader market remained cautious amidst elevated crude oil prices.
Indian equity benchmark indices ended Friday’s session higher as investors assessed quarterly earnings, global market cues and movements in crude oil prices.
The BSE Sensex closed trading more than 400 points higher, crossing 74,700, while the NSE Nifty50 inched closer to 23,150, jumping almost 150 points.
The market witnessed buying interest in information technology and metal stocks during the session, although weakness in select financial shares and the broader market kept investors cautious. Elevated crude oil prices also remained a key concern for domestic equities.
Sensex, Nifty Today: IT Stocks Support Market
IT stocks led sectoral gains during Friday’s session, while the Nifty Oil and Gas index recorded the steepest decline, according to midday market data.
At noon, the Sensex had advanced 345.67 points, or 0.47%, to 74,661.28, while the Nifty50 gained 123.30 points, or 0.54%, to 23,120.65.
However, the broader market remained under pressure, with the Nifty MidCap index declining 0.35% and the Nifty SmallCap index falling 0.18%.
Among individual stocks, HDFC Life Insurance Company, Jio Financial Services and SBI Life Insurance Company were among the Nifty50’s notable laggards during midday trade.
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Financial Stocks In Focus After Quarterly Updates
Developments across the financial services sector also remained on investors’ radar.
IIFL Finance reported that consolidated second-quarter net profit nearly doubled to Rs 805 crore from Rs 418 crore a year earlier. Revenue increased to Rs 4,246 crore from Rs 3,305 crore, while assets under management grew 38%.
L&T Finance recorded a 33% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 975 crore. Its loan book expanded 28% to Rs 1.36 lakh crore, while total income increased 26% to Rs 5,484 crore. Gross non-performing assets improved to 2.7% from 3.2% a year earlier.
Jio Financial Services reported consolidated revenue of Rs 1,699 crore for the quarter, compared with Rs 981 crore in the year-ago period. Gross profit rose to Rs 1,111 crore from Rs 681 crore, while net profit declined to Rs 384 crore from Rs 478 crore.
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company reported 18% revenue growth and 6% net profit growth in Q2FY27. However, the company also reported a decline in equity market share amid competition.
Crude Oil Prices Remain A Key Market Trigger
Oil prices continued to be an important variable for Indian equities amid concerns over energy costs and their implications for inflation.
Brent crude traded at $105.61 per barrel in early trade, down 0.07%, while West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $97.99 per barrel, lower by 0.17%.
Although prices edged lower, crude remained elevated, keeping the import bill, inflation outlook and operating costs of fuel-sensitive businesses in focus.
Global Markets And Institutional Flows
US equities closed higher in the previous session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.08%, the S&P 500 rising 0.33% and the Nasdaq Composite edging up 0.08%.
European markets also finished in positive territory. Asian equities, however, were mixed during early trade on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei advancing while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite declined.
Institutional activity remained another important monitorable. According to the latest reported figures, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 5,285.37 crore on October 14, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 3,319.39 crore.
Investors will continue to track foreign fund flows, currency movements and global bond yields for clues on market direction.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
