BENGALURU: Indian IT stocks helped the benchmark indexes close higher on Friday, but not by enough to avoid a weekly loss after a three-session losing streak sparked by HDFC Bank’s disappointing results earlier in the week.
The blue-chip index NSE Nifty 50 closed 0.75% higher to 21,622.60 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.7% up to 71,683.23. They lost 1.24% and 1.22%, respectively for the week.
The benchmarks tumbled nearly 3% from Tuesday to Thursday, mainly due to HDFC Bank’s slide following worries over its margins. Financial stocks slid 4.1% this week.
“Apart from banking, other sectors are still holding strong. So, I don’t see any reason that the market would witness any major correction,” said Ajit Mishra, senior vice president for research at Religare Broking.
On Friday, IT companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the United States, climbed after U.S. labour data bolstered hopes of a soft landing for the economy, adding to the optimism after IT bellwethers flagged green shoots of demand recovery.
Weak earnings, fading US rate cut hopes drag Indian shares
The IT index closed 0.92% higher for the day and 1.5% for the week.
“The buoyancy in the IT majors, when banking is on the back foot, seems to be giving some comfort,” Mishra said.
The more domestically focused small-cap and mid-cap indexes rose over 1% each on the day. The small-caps declined 0.37% for the week, while mid-caps rose 0.64%.
Among individual stocks, Aditya Birla group-owned UltraTech Cement closed 2% higher after its third-quarter profit beat analysts’ expectations.
Hindustan Unilever ended 0.7% higher before reporting quarterly results. It missed analysts’ quarterly profit expectations.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries is due to report results after the bell.
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