Key gauges snap 2-day losing streak; IT stocks shine

Indian equity benchmarks rebounded on Friday after two days of losses and ended higher, tracking buying in blue-chip IT stocks and a rally in global markets. However, the indices remained volatile through the session as investors awaited comments from the Fed Chair at the Jackson Hole symposium for greater clarity on the US interest-rate outlook and global liquidity conditions.

Both indices ended the session on positive note with IT emerging as the top outperformer, tracking global technology gains after Nvidia’s strong quarterly results and upbeat revenue outlook. TECK and Banking stocks also ended in the green, while Realty and Oil & Gas stocks remained under pressure. Meanwhile, exchange data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 298.26 crore on Thursday. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

S&P retains India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB’ with stable outlook: S&P Global Ratings has retained India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB’ with a stable outlook, and said that the country is a dynamic and fast-growing economy supported by policy stability and high infrastructure investment. 

India Ratings revises FY27 bank credit growth forecast to 15%: Domestic credit rating agency India Ratings has revised its FY27 estimate for bank credit growth to 15 per cent from the earlier projection of 13 per cent, but flagged an impact on profitability as lenders set aside money for transitioning to the expected credit loss system of provisioning. 

Aggregate sales of listed private non-financial companies grow 19.4% in Q1: India’s private corporate sector entered FY27 on a stronger footing, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data report has shown a marked acceleration in sales growth during Q1 of 2026-27. Aggregate sales of listed private non-financial companies grew 19.4 per cent y-o-y in Q1:2026-27, up sharply from 13.9 per cent in the previous quarter. 

India rapidly becoming global manufacturing, innovation, exports hub: During Canada visit, the Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has invited Canadian businesses and investors to invest in India and suggested to consider the country as a partner and platform for global growth and to build long-term operations and partnerships that serve India and wider global markets.  

Global front: European markets were trading higher lifted by gains in automobile and technology sectors. Asian market ended mostly lower as traders awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium later in the day for clues regarding potential interest rate hikes this year.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 330.92 points or 0.43% to 77,264.51 and the CNX Nifty was up by 84.80 points or 0.35% to 24,175.65.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 77,357.97 and 76,988.22, respectively. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.    

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.32%, TECK up by 2.15%, Bankex up by 1.01%, Metal up by 0.71% and Healthcare up by 0.55%, while Realty down by 0.29%, Oil & Gas down by 0.28%, Consumer Durables down by 0.26%, Power down by 0.24% and FMCG down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 4.09%, Infosys up by 3.34%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.18%, HCL Technologies up by 2.68% and Titan Company up by 1.17%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.30%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.18%, Asian Paints down by 1.06%, ITC down by 0.52% and Maruti Suzuki India down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that India Inc's revenue growth is likely to moderate to 13-15 per cent in the July-September quarter of 2026-27 (Q2FY27) as compared with the 21.3 per cent growth recorded in Q1FY27. 

The agency also warned that India Inc's aggregate operating profit margin (OPM) could contract by 1-1.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis in Q2FY27, mainly due to elevated raw material, fuel, freight and packaging costs that have risen largely due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. It said oil refiners are likely to remain under pressure in Q2FY27 due to petroleum-product under-recoveries and thinner marketing margins. It noted that aviation, automobiles, FMCG, cement and other energy-intensive sectors could also face margin pressures from elevated prices of crude oil and its derivatives, palm oil, coal, etc and the consequent rise in freight and packaging material costs. 

However, the report said several sectors are taking pricing actions to pass on higher costs arising from West Asia conflict and the rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar. It said metals and mining companies, upstream oil producers, telecom operators and select utilities are relatively better placed on the margins front, supported by favourable realisations, operating leverage or cost pass-through mechanisms. Despite pressures on margins, it said India Inc's credit metrics are likely to remain resilient.  

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 24,188.30 and 24,076.85, respectively. There were 30 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 4.16%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.53%, Infosys up by 2.99%, HCL Technologies up by 2.66% and Wipro up by 2.58%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.40%, Shriram Finance down by 1.28%, ITC down by 1.12%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.09% and Asian Paints down by 0.85% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 11.43 points or 0.11% to 10,803.97, France’s CAC rose 71.53 points or 0.86% to 8,391.40 and Germany’s DAX gained 131.36 points or 0.5% to 26,498.60.

Asian market ended mostly lower on Friday, as market participants took a cautious stance ahead US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium, which could provide some cues on Fed’s interest rate trajectory. Investor sentiments dulled after President Donald Trump hinted that Chinese banks could face penalties as part of Washington's pressure campaign against Tehran, following Scott Bessent warning that financial networks facilitating Iranian oil revenues are in the crosshairs. South Korea's KOSPI plunged the most among Asian indices after the Bank of Korea delivered a consecutive 25-basis-point interest rate hike to 3.00%.