India’s benchmark indices surged to all-time highs on Friday, driven by strong gains across the auto, energy, and banking sectors.
The Sensex jumped 1,360 points, or 1.63%, to close at 84,544, while the Nifty added 375 points, or 1.48%, to settle at 25,791. The Nifty briefly touched 25,806 during the trading session before paring some of its gains.
All sectoral indices posted gains, with auto, energy, banking, capital goods, FMCG, power, telecom, realty, and metals advancing between 1% and 3%. Major indices, including banking, financial services, FMCG, and consumer durables, hit new highs, reflecting the broad-based rally.
According to market experts, optimism is being fueled by expectations that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may follow the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut. Investors anticipate improved economic conditions and strong corporate earnings.
“In today’s session, market sentiment seemed boosted as expectations around the Fed rate cut continue to fuel optimism, with the global market showing strength. As a result, buying was seen across sectors, with consumption and realty leading the charge on Friday. Both sectors rose more than 2% in the intraday,” said VLA Ambala, SEBI Registered Research Analyst and Co-Founder of Stock Market Today.
“The rally is likely driven by the possibility of interest rate cut announcements in the upcoming RBI policy,” Ambala added
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said that rate-sensitive sectors like auto and finance saw strong traction. “Conventional sectors like FMCG are also performing well in anticipation of good results, driven by both increased demand and lower input costs,” he added.
Krishna Appala, Senior Research Analyst at Capitalmind Research, said that the market initially followed a “buy the rumour, sell the news” pattern but quickly resumed its upward trajectory, reaching record highs. “This is positive for the long term, especially for sectors like financials, pharma, and IT, where we expect demand to pick up,” Appala added.