Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains for a third consecutive session on Friday. The Sensex rose 166 points, while the Nifty 50 index closed above the 24,380 level. The sustained advance underscores the resilience of domestic-oriented sectors even as export-facing industries face headwinds from softer global demand.

Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv led the rally, emerging as the top gainers on both the Sensex and Nifty. Bajaj Finance, one of India's largest non-banking financial companies, and Bajaj Finserv, the holding company for the Bajaj Group's financial services businesses, are both constituents of the Nifty 50 and Sensex indices. The strength in financial stocks aligns with the broader significance of India's financial services sector in the benchmark indices, where banks and NBFCs carry substantial weight amid robust credit growth in one of the world's fastest-growing major economies.

On the losing side, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys dragged information technology (IT) stocks lower. TCS, India's largest IT services company by market capitalization, and Infosys, the second-largest, are among the most heavily weighted stocks in the benchmark indices. The IT sector has historically been sensitive to global demand trends, particularly from the United States and Europe, which represent the primary revenue markets for major Indian IT firms. Enterprise clients in these regions have intermittently adjusted discretionary technology budgets in response to macroeconomic uncertainty, contributing to uneven demand patterns for Indian IT service providers.

Analysts expect corporate earnings results to be the primary driver of the market's next directional move. India's quarterly earnings season is a key period during which listed companies report their financial performance, including revenue, profit, and guidance, which market participants closely monitor for signals on economic and sectoral trends. The results are particularly consequential given the elevated valuations in segments of the Indian market, where sustained domestic inflows through systematic investment plans have provided structural support to equity demand.

The Sensex, formally known as the S&P BSE Sensex, is a free-float weighted index comprising 30 of the largest and most actively traded stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The Nifty 50, maintained by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), tracks 50 large-cap companies across key sectors of the Indian economy. Together, these two indices are the most widely followed benchmarks for Indian equity markets.

Source: Economic Times Markets