Rupee strengthens, bank stocks rally: Sensex climbs 965 points on Q1 optimism

A strengthening rupee and renewed buying in banking and IT stocks helped lift India’s benchmark indices on Friday, with the Sensex climbing 965 points and the Nifty reaching the 24,330 level. The rupee gained 14 paise against the US dollar to settle at 96.3, adding to the improved mood on Dalal Street.

The rally was led by blue-chip Reliance Industries alongside a clutch of bank and IT names, even as the broader market stayed largely negative through the session on the back of weak global cues, according to traders.

Geojit Investments’ Vinod Nair said the market was seeing a clear shift in momentum toward large-cap stocks, led by IT and banking, driven by optimism around business updates and Q1 earnings expectations. He said domestic institutional investors appeared to be moving out of expensive mid- and small-cap stocks into large caps offering a better risk-reward balance.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the banking names that gained, alongside Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Finance. Tech Mahindra was the standout gainer, up 3.9% after reporting a 28.4% rise in June-quarter net profit to Rs 1,465 crore and voicing confidence in demand ahead.

Sun Pharma, Trent, Bharti Airtel and UltraTech Cement featured among the day’s laggards, while the commodities, industrials, telecommunication and metal segments underperformed. Brent crude climbed 1.79% to $85.5 a barrel over the same period.

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said Indian equity markets ended the week on a strong note, extending their recovery as broad-based buying in heavyweight banking, financial and IT stocks helped benchmark indices outperform weak global cues.

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