Indian shares rise, end longest weekly losing streak in 25 years

Indian shares rose on Friday and snapped their longest weekly losing streak in 25 years, although gains were modest as concerns over tighter monetary policy and elevated crude oil prices tempered investor sentiment.

The Nifty 50 rose 1.3% to 22,520.45 and the BSE Sensex added 1.23% to 72,472.33, led by IT stocks after bellwether Tata Consultancy Services’ earnings underscored growing AI-related revenue contributions and robust international business growth.

The Nifty 50 and Sensex ended the week 0.4% and 0.8% higher, respectively. They dropped 8.7% and 8.4%, respectively, in the last eight weeks.

The “market should continue to find support on a technical basis after the recent drop and Nifty 50 index has a potential to rise about 5% in a scenario where earnings growth holds up to expectations and crude prices ease below $100 per barrel,” said Dharmesh Kant, head of equity research at Cholamandalam Securities.

Heavyweight financials gained 1.7% for the week, supported by strong quarterly business updates and lack of liquidity withdrawal measures by the Reserve Bank of India this week after its 25-basis-point rate hike.

IT stocks rose 1% for the week. Investors largely brushed aside the US government’s decision to suspend some IT firms from the Permanent Labor Certification programme (PERM) and instead focused on TCS’ quarterly results.

The move is part of a broader effort by Washington to curb pathways to permanent residency for certain foreign workers.

“Accenture and TCS results indicate the worst is over for IT companies in terms of earnings, and that has created an opportunity for bargain hunting in the sector after their slide over the last two years,” Kant said.

Eight of the 16 major sectors rose for the week. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively.

Brent crude futures rose 0.7% to $103 per barrel as shipping attacks in the Gulf kept investors wary about disruptions to global energy supplies.

India is a major importer of crude oil, making higher prices a key risk for inflation and growth.

Among individual stocks, Trent gained 13.1% to top Nifty 50 gainers’ list after the apparel retailer reported strong quarterly sales.

Adani Enterprises slid 6.5% to be the index’s worst performer on concerns GQG Partners could pare its holding after the asset manager sold its stake in ITC through a block deal on Thursday.