Sensex gains 308 points, Nifty reclaims 23,000; IT, pharma stocks lead rally

The domestic equity benchmarks extended their gains on Friday, with the Nifty reclaiming the 23,000 mark. Buying in IT, pharma and select heavyweight stocks supported the frontline indices, helping them recover from a muted opening despite weak global cues. However, gains remained moderate as elevated crude oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East kept investors cautious. Brent crude trading above $117 per barrel heightened concerns over inflationary pressures and India's import bill, limiting the scope for a sustained recovery. The broader indices underperformed, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices ending lower.

The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 308.49 points or 0.42% to 74,459.93. The Nifty 50 index rose 116.35 points or 0.51% to 23,053.10.

Infosys (up 3.36%), HDFC Bank (up 1.39%) and ICICI Bank (0.82%) boosted the Nifty higher today.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The Nifty MidCap 150 Index declined 0.93% and the Nifty SmallCap 250 Index fell 1.97%.

The market breadth was weak. On the NSE, 1,013 shares rose and 2,511 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 2.21% to 15.45.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for the December 2026 settlement advanced $2.48 or 2.16% to $117.36 a barrel.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 0.51% to 7.425 compared with previous session close of 7.387.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 94.9250 compared with its close of 95.2650 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 4 December 2026 settlement fell 0.80% to Rs 1,41,453.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.38% to 101.65.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 1.22% to 4.923.

Global Market:

European shares traded mostly higher on Friday, supported by gains in energy and select heavyweight stocks.

Most Asian equities ended lower on Friday, with artificial intelligence-related shares leading losses after disappointing results from U.S. technology companies, while the Bank of Japan held interest rates steady at 1.25% as expected. The BOJ also upgraded its inflation forecast for its fiscal year 2027 to 2.6% from 2.4%, with the so-called core-core inflation forecast also raised to 2.7% from 2.6%.

US stocks ended lower on Thursday, as disappointing technology earnings and concerns over AI investment returns weighed on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 132.54 points, or 0.25%, to 52,342.56. The S&P 500 fell 23.59 points, or 0.30%, to 7,720.39, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 365.13 points, or 1.38%, to 26,184.72.

Alphabet shares plunged 12.64% on Thursday, marking their worst daily decline on record, after its third-quarter revenue missed market expectations. Revenue increased 25% year on year to $127.58 billion, against the analyst estimate of $127.97 billion. Earnings per share stood at $2.12, below expectations of approximately $2.94.

Google Cloud revenue surged 103% to $30.7 billion, but concerns over heavy AI-related capital expenditure and the returns from these investments overshadowed the growth.

ServiceNow and Fortinet also faced heavy selling following their financial updates. Both stocks declined more than 20%, adding to pressure on the technology sector.

After the US market close, Intel shares plunged more than 17% in extended trading after the company issued a weaker-than-expected outlook. Intel reported third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion, up 21% year on year, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.52. It forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.25.

Amazon shares fell more than 5% in extended trading despite strong cloud growth. Third-quarter net sales increased 12% to $201.94 billion, while AWS revenue rose 39% to $46 billion. Operating income increased to $28.08 billion from $17.42 billion a year earlier.

However, trailing 12-month free cash flow turned negative at $42.36 billion, compared with positive free cash flow of $14.79 billion a year earlier. Amazon maintained its 2026 capital expenditure forecast of approximately $220 billion. Its fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $240 billion to $247 billion also disappointed investors.

The US economy expanded at an annualised rate of 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026, according to the advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday. This compared with growth of 2.2% in the second quarter and exceeded the approximately 3% market forecast.

Consumer spending rose at a 3.8% annualised rate, while business investment also contributed to growth. Investment in information-processing equipment increased sharply, reflecting continued spending on AI-related infrastructure. The GDP figure is preliminary and subject to revision.

Meanwhile, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, increased 0.5% month on month in September, compared with 0.3% in August. Annual inflation accelerated to 3.6% from 3.4%.

Core PCE inflation, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% month on month and 3.1% year on year, compared with 3.0% in August. The monthly increases were in line with market expectations.

Personal consumption expenditure increased 0.5% in September, while real consumer spending was unchanged. The data indicated that inflationary pressures remained elevated despite resilient economic growth.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index jumped 2.32% to 32,606.90, extending its gains to 3.34% over the past two consecutive trading sessions.

Among the index constituents, Wipro (up 4.32%), Coforge (up 4.23%), LTIMindtree (up 3.39%), Infosys (up 3.36%) and Persistent Systems (up 2.86%) emerged as the top gainers. HCL Technologies rose 1.72%, followed by Tech Mahindra (up 1.20%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 0.99%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.56%).

On the other hand, Mphasis declined 1.39%, emerging as the sole laggard among the index constituents.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Equitas Small Finance Bank shares slumped 6.26%, despite the lender reporting its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 218.04 crore for Q2 FY27. The sharp sell-off followed the resignation of managing director and CEO P. N. Vasudevan, with concerns over leadership succession and a perceived conflict of interest weighing on investor sentiment. The board has asked him to continue as MD and CEO until a successor takes charge. The bank's profit after tax surged 803.23% year-on-year and 18.75% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 218.04 crore in Q2 FY27, compared with Rs 24.14 crore in Q2 FY26 and Rs 183.61 crore in Q1 FY27. Total income increased 27.69% year-on-year and 6.41% sequentially to Rs 2,357.51 crore.

Interglobe Aviation (Indigo) jumped 4.33% after the company?s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 1,878.6 crore in Q2 FY27 compared with net loss of Rs 2,581.7 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations increased 25.91% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 23,363.8 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2026, supported by disciplined capacity deployment and yield management.

Trent rose 5.44% after the company reported an 8.63% year-on-year increase in standalone net profit to Rs 489.65 crore in Q2 FY27. However, profit declined 7.92% quarter on quarter from Rs 531.77 crore in Q1 FY27. Standalone revenue from operations increased 22.51% year on year to Rs 5,787.64 crore from Rs 4,724.06 crore. Revenue rose 2.14% sequentially from Rs 5,666.30 crore in Q1 FY27.

During the quarter, Trent opened its 1,000th Zudio store. It added 10 Westside and 19 Zudio stores, while consolidating two Zudio stores.

Deepak Nitrite rose 2.91% after the company reported a 235% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 398 crore in Q2 FY27. Sequentially, net profit increased 15% from Rs 345 crore in Q1 FY27. Strong growth in the Phenolics business and improved operating performance supported the quarterly results. Revenue from operations increased 61.73% year on year to Rs 3,076 crore from Rs 1,902 crore. Revenue rose 19% sequentially from Rs 2,578 crore in Q1 FY27.

Greaves Cotton surged 6.75% after the company reported a 44.2% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue from operations to Rs 1,175.91 crore in Q2 FY27. Strong growth across its core businesses and improving performance in its electric mobility business supported the quarterly performance.

Revenue increased 20.72% sequentially from Rs 974.12 crore in Q1 FY27. Adjusted net profit stood at Rs 17.53 crore, down 34.44% year on year from Rs 26.74 crore. It declined 31.98% quarter on quarter from Rs 25.77 crore.

EBITDA increased 43% year on year to Rs 73 crore from Rs 51 crore. However, EBITDA margin moderated to 6.2% from 6.3% a year earlier. Business profit before tax, excluding exceptional and one-off items, rose 44% year on year to Rs 44 crore from Rs 31 crore. Business PBT margin remained at 3.8%. The company reported exceptional and one-off items of Rs 60 crore during the quarter.

Initial Public offer (IPO):

M. K. Sons Fine Jewels received bids for 5,99,83,833 shares as against 1,19,00,000 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:33 IST on 29 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 5.04 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 28 October 2026 and will close on 30 October 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 153 and 162 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 91 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Bombay Coated & Special Steels received bids for 6,16,76,160 shares as against 1,65,33,012 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:36 IST on 29 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 3.73 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 29 October 2026 and will close on 2 November 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 78 and 82 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 182 equity shares and multiples thereof.

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