After a bruising sell-off in the previous session, Indian equities staged a sharp comeback on Friday, with the Sensex and Nifty surging over 1% in early trade. The rebound was driven by strong domestic institutional buying and aggressive bargain hunting in battered cyclical stocks. Sentiment was lifted as Brent crude prices cooled to $106 a barrel, easing from the previous session’s spike to $118, offering some relief on the macro front.

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose around 800 points, or 1.1%, in the early trade to reclaim 75,000 mark, as strong domestic buying and broad-based sectoral participation lifted sentiment. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 climbed 237 points, or 1.03%, to 23,240.20.

Broader markets outperformed the headline indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 1.50% and 1.00%, respectively.

Market breadth remained strongly positive, underscoring the strength of the rally. Out of 3,437 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,732 advanced while only 565 declined and 140 remained unchanged.

PSU banks, metals lead surge

On the BSE Sensex pack, Tata Steel emerged as the top gainer, climbing 4.09%, followed by State Bank of India, which rose 3.29%. Tech Mahindra gained 2.60%, while Larsen & Toubro advanced 2.27%.

Among index heavyweights, Reliance Industries advanced 1.91%, providing significant support to the index, while IT majors Infosys and HCLTech gained 1.59% and 1.57%, respectively. Banking majors ICICI Bank and Axis Bank also traded higher, up 1.43% and 1.50%, indicating continued strength in the financial pack.

Power and utilities stocks were also in demand, with NTPC up 2.15% and Power Grid Corporation of India gaining 2.09%. Consumption and discretionary names held firm, with Titan Company rising 2.05% and Asian Paints adding 1.26%.

Other notable gainers included Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, ITC Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, and InterGlobe Aviation, all posting gains of over 1%.

On the downside, HDFC Bank was the sole major laggard, declining nearly 2%, while Bajaj Finance was marginally down by 0.65%.

All sectoral indices in green

Sectorally, all indices were in green zone, led by metals and PSU banks. The Nifty Metal surged 2.29%, driven by strong gains in metal stocks, while the Nifty PSU Bank jumped 3.73%, emerging as the top-performing sector amid renewed buying interest in public sector lenders.

Rate-sensitive and cyclical sectors also saw strong participation. The Nifty Realty rose 1.77%, while the Nifty Auto advanced 1.03%. Oil & gas stocks were also in focus, with the Nifty Oil & Gas gaining 1.61%, alongside a 1.60% rise in the Nifty Consumer Durables index.

Technology stocks continued their upward momentum, with the Nifty IT climbing 1.30%, while defensives like healthcare and pharma also saw steady buying. The Nifty Pharma rose 1.30%, and the Nifty Healthcare Index gained 1.20%.

Cooling oil prices lift sentiment

While the recovery offers a breather to investors, sentiment remains tethered to global cues and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, keeping market participants cautious even as the bounce gathers momentum.

“Today there is potential for the market to move up since hope of de-escalation is back. Israel PM’s remarks yesterday indicate that there won’t be further attacks on Iran’s oil and gas infrastructure,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.

Even though the uncertainty continues, the market construct is ripe for a bounce back today. Beaten down financials and autos are set for a bounce back, he added.

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