Last Updated on October 30, 2026 9:37 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
By Our Business Correspondent
Indian equity markets extended their recovery for a second consecutive session on Friday, with the Nifty 50 reclaiming the psychologically important 23,000 mark as buying in information technology, pharmaceutical and select heavyweight stocks lifted benchmark indices. However, persistent concerns over elevated crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and weakness in broader markets kept investors cautious, restricting the gains.
The BSE Sensex advanced 308.49 points, or 0.42 per cent, to close at 74,459.93, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 116.35 points, or 0.51 per cent, to settle at 23,053.10. Both benchmarks recovered from a relatively subdued opening, supported by buying in technology stocks and selected banking heavyweights.
Infosys emerged among the leading contributors to the Nifty’s advance, rising 3.36 per cent. HDFC Bank gained 1.39 per cent, while ICICI Bank added 0.82 per cent, providing additional support to the frontline indices.
Despite the benchmark recovery, the broader market remained under considerable selling pressure. The Nifty MidCap 150 index declined 0.93 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap 250 index fell 1.97 per cent, indicating that the buying interest was largely concentrated in select large-cap stocks.
Market breadth on the NSE was distinctly negative, with 2,511 shares declining against 1,013 advances, while 109 remained unchanged. The India VIX, which measures expected near-term market volatility, rose 2.21 per cent to 15.45, reflecting continuing uncertainty among investors.
The contrast between gains in frontline indices and losses in midcap and smallcap stocks highlighted the selective nature of Friday’s recovery. Investors remained particularly sensitive to global developments, corporate earnings and movements in crude oil prices.
Crude oil and bond yields remain concerns
Developments in the commodity and currency markets continued to influence domestic sentiment. Brent crude futures for December 2026 delivery rose $2.48, or 2.16 per cent, to $117.36 a barrel, intensifying concerns over India’s import bill and the possibility of renewed inflationary pressures.
As one of the world’s major crude oil importers, India remains particularly vulnerable to sustained increases in international oil prices. Higher crude prices can increase the cost of energy imports, put pressure on the current account deficit and complicate the inflation outlook.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark government security increased to 7.425 per cent from 7.387 per cent in the previous session, indicating some pressure in the domestic bond market.
The rupee, meanwhile, strengthened against the US dollar. The partially convertible currency was quoted at 94.9250 against the dollar, compared with its previous close of 95.2650.
In the precious metals market, MCX gold futures for December 4 delivery declined 0.80 per cent to Rs 1,41,453. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, slipped 0.38 per cent to 101.65. The US 10-year Treasury yield declined to 4.923 per cent.
IT stocks power sectoral recovery
Information technology stocks were the principal drivers of Friday’s market gains. The Nifty IT index climbed 2.32 per cent to 32,606.90, taking its cumulative advance over the previous two sessions to 3.34 per cent.
Wipro led the sectoral gainers, rising 4.32 per cent, followed by Coforge at 4.23 per cent, LTIMindtree at 3.39 per cent, Infosys at 3.36 per cent and Persistent Systems at 2.86 per cent.
HCL Technologies advanced 1.72 per cent, while Tech Mahindra gained 1.20 per cent. Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.99 per cent and Oracle Financial Services Software added 0.56 per cent. Mphasis was the only constituent among the listed stocks to finish lower, declining 1.39 per cent.
The technology sector’s recovery came despite disappointing earnings from several major US technology companies, which had weighed on global sentiment in the previous session. Investors appeared to focus on domestic buying opportunities and selective corporate earnings rather than follow the weakness in overseas technology stocks.
Global markets remain mixed
Asian equity markets mostly ended lower on Friday as disappointing earnings from US technology companies and concerns over the returns on massive artificial intelligence investments weighed on investor sentiment.
Technology and AI-linked stocks were particularly weak. The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, kept its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.25 per cent, in line with expectations. However, it raised its inflation forecast for fiscal 2027 to 2.6 per cent from 2.4 per cent. Its core-core inflation projection, which excludes fresh food and energy, was also revised upwards to 2.7 per cent from 2.6 per cent.
European markets traded largely higher, supported by gains in energy and selected heavyweight stocks.
On Wall Street, US equities ended Thursday’s session lower following disappointing technology earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 132.54 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 52,342.56. The S&P 500 slipped 23.59 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 7,720.39, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 365.13 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 26,184.72.
Alphabet shares plunged 12.64 per cent after the Google parent reported third-quarter revenue of $127.58 billion, up 25 per cent year-on-year but marginally below market expectations of $127.97 billion. Earnings per share came in at $2.12, also below the reported analyst estimate of approximately $2.94.
Google Cloud remained a bright spot, with revenue surging 103 per cent to $30.7 billion. However, concerns over substantial AI-related capital expenditure and the time required to generate adequate returns from these investments overshadowed the strong cloud performance.
Technology stocks ServiceNow and Fortinet also came under heavy selling pressure following their financial updates, with both declining more than 20 per cent.
After the US market closed, Intel shares fell more than 17 per cent in extended trading following a weaker-than-expected outlook. The company reported third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion, up 21 per cent year-on-year, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.52. Its fourth-quarter revenue forecast of $15 billion to $16 billion and earnings-per-share guidance of $0.25 disappointed investors.
Amazon shares also declined more than 5 per cent in extended trading despite strong cloud growth. Its third-quarter net sales increased 12 per cent to $201.94 billion, while Amazon Web Services revenue jumped 39 per cent to $46 billion. Operating income rose to $28.08 billion from $17.42 billion a year earlier.
However, its trailing 12-month free cash flow turned negative at $42.36 billion, compared with positive cash flow of $14.79 billion a year earlier. The company’s capital expenditure forecast of approximately $220 billion for 2026 and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $240 billion to $247 billion also raised concerns over spending and future returns.
US economic growth remains strong, but inflation persists
Fresh economic data from the United States presented a mixed picture for global investors. According to the advance estimate released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy expanded at an annualised rate of 3.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 2.2 per cent in the preceding quarter. The growth rate also exceeded market expectations of around 3 per cent.
Consumer spending increased at an annualised rate of 3.8 per cent, while business investment contributed to economic expansion. Investment in information-processing equipment also increased sharply, reflecting continued expenditure on AI-related infrastructure. The GDP estimate remains preliminary and is subject to revision.
At the same time, inflationary pressures remained elevated. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, increased 0.5 per cent month-on-month in September, compared with 0.3 per cent in August. Annual inflation accelerated to 3.6 per cent from 3.4 per cent.
Core PCE inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3 per cent during the month and 3.1 per cent year-on-year, compared with 3 per cent in August.
Although personal consumption expenditure increased 0.5 per cent in September, inflation-adjusted consumer spending remained unchanged. The combination of resilient economic growth and persistent inflation could complicate the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions in the coming months.
Stocks in focus
Equitas Small Finance Bank: Shares declined 6.26 per cent despite the lender reporting its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 218.04 crore for Q2 FY27. Investor sentiment was affected by the resignation of managing director and chief executive P. N. Vasudevan, raising concerns over leadership succession and a perceived conflict of interest. The board has requested him to continue until a successor assumes charge.
The bank’s profit after tax surged 803.23 per cent year-on-year from Rs 24.14 crore in Q2 FY26 and increased 18.75 per cent sequentially from Rs 183.61 crore in Q1 FY27. Total income rose 27.69 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,357.51 crore.
InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo): Shares advanced 4.33 per cent after the airline reported a narrowing of its consolidated net loss to Rs 1,878.6 crore in Q2 FY27, compared with Rs 2,581.7 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations increased 25.91 per cent year-on-year to Rs 23,363.8 crore, supported by capacity deployment and yield management.
Trent: The retail company’s shares climbed 5.44 per cent after its standalone net profit increased 8.63 per cent year-on-year to Rs 489.65 crore. However, profit declined 7.92 per cent sequentially from Rs 531.77 crore in Q1 FY27.
Standalone revenue from operations grew 22.51 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5,787.64 crore. During the quarter, Trent opened its 1,000th Zudio store and added 10 Westside and 19 Zudio outlets, while consolidating two Zudio stores.
Deepak Nitrite: Shares gained 2.91 per cent after consolidated net profit jumped 235 per cent year-on-year to Rs 398 crore in Q2 FY27. Profit also increased 15 per cent sequentially from Rs 345 crore in the preceding quarter. Revenue from operations surged 61.73 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,076 crore, supported by strong performance in its Phenolics business and improved operating performance.
Greaves Cotton: The stock surged 6.75 per cent after consolidated revenue from operations increased 44.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,175.91 crore in Q2 FY27. Revenue also rose 20.72 per cent sequentially from Rs 974.12 crore.
However, adjusted net profit declined 34.44 per cent year-on-year to Rs 17.53 crore from Rs 26.74 crore. EBITDA increased 43 per cent to Rs 73 crore, although the EBITDA margin moderated to 6.2 per cent from 6.3 per cent. Business profit before tax, excluding exceptional and one-off items, rose 44 per cent to Rs 44 crore. The company reported exceptional and one-off items of Rs 60 crore during the quarter.
Market outlook
The recovery in benchmark indices suggests that investors continue to find opportunities in selected large-cap stocks, particularly in IT and pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, weak market breadth, continued pressure on smaller companies, elevated crude oil prices and uncertainty surrounding global technology spending indicate that the recovery remains fragile.
Investors are likely to monitor corporate earnings, movements in crude oil, currency trends and developments in the Middle East for further direction.