Sensex Rallies 331 Points, Nifty Closes Above 24,150 Led by IT Stocks

Stock Market Today, August 28: Indian benchmark indices ended Friday’s session on a positive note, recovering from early losses as IT stocks led the rebound. The Sensex climbed 330.92 points, or 0.43%, to 77,264.51, while the Nifty advanced 84.80 points, or 0.35%, to 24,175.65.

The Sensex opened at 77,128.05 and moved in a narrow range, hitting an intraday high of 77,357.97 and a low of 76,988.22. The Nifty touched 24,188.30 at its peak and slipped to an intraday low of 24,076.85.

IT STOCKS DRIVE GAINS

IT stocks were the key force behind the market’s recovery. The Nifty IT index surged 3.51%, emerging as the best-performing sector of the day. The rally followed gains in US technology stocks and renewed optimism around artificial intelligence spending after Nvidia reported strong second-quarter results and offered an upbeat revenue outlook.

The Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index also rose 2.26%.

Metal, pharma and healthcare stocks also supported the broader market. The Nifty Metal index gained 0.75%, while Pharma and Healthcare advanced 0.53% and 0.54%, respectively.

In the broader market, the Nifty 100 rose 0.24%, Nifty 200 gained 0.20% and Nifty 500 added 0.20%. The Nifty Smallcap 250 ended 0.34% higher.

FMCG, CHEMICAL STOCKS UNDER PRESSURE

The gains were capped by weakness across several sectors. Nifty Chemicals fell 0.70%, while Cement declined 0.56%. Consumer Durables and FMCG dropped 0.48% and 0.46%, respectively. Realty and Private Bank indices also finished marginally lower.

Among Sensex stocks, TCS led the gains with a 4.09% jump. Infosys rose 3.34%, followed by Tech Mahindra at 3.18% and HCL Technologies at 2.68%.

ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Finserv were among the major losers.

India VIX declined 4.02% to 10.62, pointing to relatively subdued volatility in the near term.

EXPERT VIEW

Siddhartha Khemka, head of research (wealth management) at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said the Indian market may remain range-bound as investors contend with mixed global signals, geopolitical uncertainty and a lacklustre trading environment.

He pointed to the decline in Brent crude, which had eased to around $88 a barrel after falling roughly 8% over the previous nine days. According to Khemka, investors are likely to remain focused on geopolitical developments along with key domestic and global macroeconomic indicators.

Khemka said the IT sector stood out during Friday’s session, helped by the rally in US technology shares and a recovery from its recent sell-off. Meanwhile, higher raw material costs continued to put pressure on FMCG stocks.