The Indian stock market, with the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty reaching intraday peaks, was bolstered by strong performances in financial and auto sectors, particularly Bajaj Finance which surged on robust profit growth. Despite profit-booking in IT stocks, positive sentiment was fueled by substantial foreign institutional investor inflows and easing crude oil prices.

The Indian stock market, with the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty reaching intraday peaks, was bolstered by strong performances in financial and auto sectors, particularly Bajaj Finance which surged on robust profit growth. Despite profit-booking in IT stocks, positive sentiment was fueled by substantial foreign institutional investor inflows and easing crude oil prices.

The Indian stock market, with the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty reaching intraday peaks, was bolstered by strong performances in financial and auto sectors, particularly Bajaj Finance which surged on robust profit growth. Despite profit-booking in IT stocks, positive sentiment was fueled by substantial foreign institutional investor inflows and easing crude oil prices.

The BSE Sensex climbed to an intraday high of 78,069.91, up around 141 points from Thursday’s close, while the NSE Nifty touched a morning peak of 24,381.25, gaining roughly 64 points.

The rally was led by NBFC Bajaj Finance, which surged more than 6 per cent after reporting a 28 per cent year-on-year jump in consolidated profit after tax to ₹6,081 crore for the June quarter of FY27, helped by stronger core income and better asset quality.

Financials and auto stocks broadly outperformed, with Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharat Electronics, Maruti, InterGlobe Aviation, Adani Ports and Sun Pharma also among the gainers, while Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, ITC and HDFC Bank lagged as investors booked profits in IT shares following a sharp recent rally.

Supporting the upmove, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹3,623.51 crore on Thursday, while Brent crude eased 0.98 per cent to $88.16 a barrel, easing cost concerns for India as a major energy importer.

Asian markets were mixed, with South Korea’s KOSPI rebounding sharply and Japan’s Nikkei and Shanghai’s SSE Composite also trading higher, even as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped.

Wall Street’s strong close on Thursday further lifted sentiment in early Indian trade, helping the market build on Thursday’s gains rather than stay range-bound as some early trade had suggested.

Rupee extends winning run

The rupee, too, extended its winning run into a fifth straight session on Friday, rising 20 paise to 95.30 against the dollar in early trade, having opened at 95.40 before strengthening further.

The currency drew support from foreign capital inflows and softer global crude oil prices, though a firmer US dollar index, up 0.35 per cent at 100.21, capped sharper gains.

On Thursday, the rupee had climbed 26 paise to close at 95.50, with analysts expecting the local unit to remain range-bound during the day, buoyed by lower oil prices even as continued intervention from the Reserve Bank of India kept it broadly supported.

The currency's resilience came even as geopolitical tensions in West Asia showed fresh signs of escalation, with the US and Iran exchanging missile barrages on Thursday, dimming hopes of an early resolution to the conflict.

Jordan reported intercepting Iranian missiles for a second consecutive day, while Kuwait said a strike in its northern region had killed one person, underscoring the risk that the fighting could widen further.

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