Indian stock markets opened Friday's session on a firm footing, with private sector banks driving the charge even as elevated crude oil prices and stalled peace talks between the United States and Iran kept investors on guard.
The BSE Sensex hit an intraday high of 75,723.31, up over 539 points from Thursday's close of 75,183.36. The NSE Nifty 50 climbed to an intraday high of 23,800.15, gaining roughly 145 points from its previous close of 23,654.70.
In morning trade, ten of the 16 major sectoral indices were advancing, while broader small-cap and mid-cap stocks traded flat.
The rally's engine was banking. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, the two heaviest constituents of the Nifty 50 by weightage, each rose around 2 per cent, pushing the financial services index up 1.3 per cent. In the 30-pack Sensex, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, and Asian Paints added to the two top private lenders. Dragging on the index were Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, and ITC.
Indian markets benefited from a strong quarterly earnings season. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) gained more than 2 per cent after posting a quarterly profit rise on the back of robust group business growth.
Consumer brand company Honasa Consumer Care surged at least 8.5 per cent after its Mamaearth brand delivered mid-teens growth in the March quarter.
Infrastructure and chemicals firms VA Tech Wabag and Rashtriya Chemicals rose more than 3.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively, after posting sharp profit increases.
However, shares of Central Bank of India slid around 5.5 per cent after the government announced an offer for sale of up to an 8 per cent stake in the lender, with the floor price set at an 8.6 per cent discount to Thursday's closing price.
Foreign Institutional Investors had net-sold Indian equities worth ₹1,891.21 crore on Thursday.
The mood globally was cautiously optimistic. Asian markets, including Japan's Nikkei 225, South Korea's Kospi, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and Shanghai's SSE Composite, were all trading in positive territory.
Brent crude, however, remained a concern, hovering near $104–105 a barrel, with geopolitical uncertainty persisting after Washington and Tehran failed to bridge their differences over Iran's uranium stockpile and demands around the Strait of Hormuz.