Mumbai | Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for the second straight session on Friday, supported by robust buying in IT firms and earnings-driven demand in the Tata Group's retail arm Trent.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 308.49 points, or 0.42 per cent, to settle at 74,459.53. During the day, it surged 591.55 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 74,742.59.
The 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 116.35 points, or 0.51 per cent, to end at 23,053.10.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,335.7 points, or 1.82 per cent, and the Nifty climbed 453.1 points, or 2 per cent.
"Indian equity markets extended their gains for the second consecutive session, with benchmark indices closing modestly higher despite persistent concerns over rising crude oil prices.
"Sectoral performance remained mixed, with the IT sector emerging as one of the strongest performers as investors rotated into technology stocks amid an AI-related sell-off across Asian markets. Trent was a standout individual gainer to lead the Nifty-50 gainers," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
Among Sensex firms, Trent jumped 5.20 per cent after the Tata Group's retail arm on Thursday reported a 25 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 468 crore for the September quarter, as revenue growth and operating leverage supported earnings amid an inflationary environment.
InterGlobe Aviation, Infosys, NTPC, Power Grid, Eternal, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were also among the major gainers.
In contrast, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement and Tata Steel were major laggards.
The BSE SmallCap Select index tumbled 2.09 per cent, and the BSE MidCap Select index declined 0.63 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, Focused IT surged 1.91 per cent, IT 1.53 per cent, Hospitals 1.05 per cent, Healthcare 0.95 per cent and Utilities 0.25 per cent.
Housing Finance tanked 2.90 per cent, MidSmall Private Banks 2.40 per cent, MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt 2.17 per cent, Industrials 1.72 per cent, PSU Bank 1.17 per cent and Realty 0.94 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 2.17 per cent to USD 117.4 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 943.60 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index ended lower. In contrast, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index settled higher.
European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended lower on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Sensex rallied 905.01 points, or 1.24 per cent, to close at 74,151.04. The Nifty ended 237.90 points, or 1.05 per cent, higher at 22,936.75.
