Earnings-driven IT bounce powers Indian shares to best week in six months

Indian share benchmarks posted their best weekly performance in six months on Friday, powered by a rally in IT stocks after stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and a selloff in global AI markets that prompted value-buying elsewhere.

Investors now await results from several heavyweight companies, including major banks, and the initial public offering of Jio Platforms.

The Nifty 50 rose 2.8% to 23,146.15 and the Sensex added 3.1% to 74,729.27, marking their strongest weekly showing since April 10. On the day, the indexes gained 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.

The MSCI’s broadest index for Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 5.8% this week.

“The absence of any major negative surprises from IT earnings, coupled with management commentary pointing to growing AI-led revenue, has given investors confidence to return to these beaten-down names,” said Saurabh Jain, deputy vice president of equities at SMC Global.

“That rebound in IT has, in turn, lifted the benchmarks.”

The IT index surged 3.9% on Friday, taking its weekly gain to 11.7%, its steepest such advance in 18 years.

TCS, Infosys, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra climbed between 13.4% and 18.2%, placing them among the Nifty 50’s top weekly percentage gainers.

Near-term direction will hinge on results from ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, due on Saturday, Jain said, adding “the market, and IT shares in particular, could pause next week as the Jio Platforms IPO absorbs liquidity.”

The record $3.2 billion IPO of Jio Platforms, part of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, opens on October 21, with trading expected to begin on October 28.

Jio’s rival Bharti Airtel gained 5.5% this week, with analysts saying Jio’s listing could sharpen investor focus on the telecom sector.

Twelve of the 16 major sectors logged weekly gains. The broader small-caps fell 0.1% and mid-caps rose 0.6%.

Still, elevated crude prices and the risk that persistent global inflation could keep monetary policy tighter for longer were headwinds, analysts cautioned. Brent crude hovered near $106 a barrel on Friday.

Meanwhile, central bank curbs and interventions to rein in dollar demand lifted the rupee about 2% to its best week in seven months.