MUMBAI, India — Indian equity markets closed modestly higher on Friday, ending the week with gains despite giving up most of their intraday advances amid afternoon profit-taking.
The benchmark Sensex rose 187 points, or 0.23 percent, to settle at 83,570, while the Nifty added 28 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 25,694.
Broader markets tracked the benchmarks, though with slight underperformance. The Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.07 percent, while the NSE Smallcap 100 declined 0.34 percent.
The Nifty opened on a muted note at 25,696 and climbed to an intraday high of 25,873, supported by a strong rally in information technology stocks following better-than-expected December-quarter earnings. However, the index failed to hold higher levels and fell to an intraday low of 25,662 as investors booked profits at elevated valuations.
On the sectoral front, IT, realty, and banking stocks led gains. The Nifty IT index was the top performer, rising 3.34 percent. In contrast, pharma and consumer durables stocks came under pressure, with the Nifty Pharma index falling 1.30 percent and consumer durables down 1.15 percent.
Banking stocks also saw solid buying interest, with the Nifty Bank index gaining about 0.84 percent to close at 60,082, moving closer to a potential record high.
Analysts said the IT sector outperformed after a major industry bellwether revised its revenue growth outlook upward, along with expectations of increased technology spending. Banking stocks benefited from early quarterly results indicating improvements in asset quality and margins, which helped lift investor sentiment.
In the derivatives segment, market breadth remained slightly positive, with 131 stocks advancing against 82 declines.
Market participants said better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter of FY26 could drive stock-specific moves in the near term, although foreign institutional selling is expected to persist. (Source: IANS)
