Bulls in control as Sensex surges 600 points, Nifty reclaims 23,800

Indian equity benchmarks were sitting comfortably in positive territory at midday on Friday, with domestic institutional buying and optimism over a potential US-Iran diplomatic breakthrough keeping the bulls in charge. The BSE Sensex was trading at 75,785.44, up 602 points or 0.80%, while the Nifty 50 gained 176.15 points or 0.74% to trade at 23,830.85 at 12:53 pm.

Global triggers: Iran deal optimism vs crude headwinds

Crude oil, however, remained a risk on the table. Brent crude rose $1.66 or 1.6% to $104.24 per barrel by early Friday, while WTI was up 1.2% at $97.46 per barrel — well above the comfort zone for oil-importing economies like India. Despite Friday’s tick up, both benchmarks were on course for a weekly decline — Brent down 4.6% and WTI down 7.6% — as optimism over a peace deal restrained aggressive buying.

Asian markets broadly rose — Tokyo’s Nikkei surged over 2% and Taipei gained 1.5%, tracking a positive but cautious close on Wall Street the previous night.

Institutional flows: DIIs hold the fort

On Thursday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs/FPIs) net sold ₹1,891.21 crore in the cash market, continuing their selling streak. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) countered with net purchases of ₹2,492.42 crore, providing the floor that kept markets from sliding.

Sector moves

Banking and financials were the standout sector drivers. Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank were among the top performers, buoyed by strong positioning in ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank. Nifty Financial Services also held firm, with Shriram Finance adding to the sector’s momentum.

FMCG put in a strong showing, with HUL surging nearly 1.86% and Asian Paints gaining 1.79%, reflecting defensive buying and sector rotation into consumer names. Nifty FMCG, which had been an underperformer for much of the year, saw some recovery. Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank also moved higher, adding breadth to the session’s gains.

IT was a mixed bag. While Wipro led index gainers — up 2.09% — heavyweights TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were all in the red, keeping the Nifty IT index under pressure.

Wipro was the top Nifty gainer, followed by Trent (+2.03%), Axis Bank (+1.99%), ICICI Bank (+1.92%), Shriram Finance (+1.88%), HUL (+1.86%) and Asian Paints (+1.79%). Eicher Motors, Jio Financial, L&T and HDFC Bank were also among the notable risers.

Max Health Care was the biggest drag, down 4.32%, followed by ITC (-1.57%), ONGC (-1.39%), Sun Pharma (-1.27%), Power Grid (-1.07%) and Bajaj Auto (-0.88%). ONGC and Sun Pharma were under pressure ahead of and post quarterly results, while ITC continued to face selling pressure with investors rotating away from defensive consumer names towards banks and consumption discretionary plays.