Friday's Session: Sensex gains 331 pts; Nifty closes above 24,150

Indian equity benchmarks snapped a two-day losing streak and ended higher on Friday, driven by a strong rally in information technology (IT) stocks. The BSE Sensex gained 330.92 points (0.43%) to close at 77,264.51, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 84.80 points (0.35%) to settle at 24,175.65 [citation:1][citation:11].

Key Driver: Markets opened gap-up (Sensex @ ~77,357; Nifty @ ~24,188) and held gains, supported by IT stocks tracking a global tech rally. Nifty IT surged with TCS gaining 4.16% and Tech Mahindra rising 3.53% [citation:1].

Selective weakness: Bank Nifty ended marginally lower by 13.65 points (0.02%) at 57,496.30, while ICICI Bank and Shriram Finance were among top losers on Nifty [citation:1][citation:3].

Sectoral trends mixed; IT, Metal gain; Bank Nifty flat, FMCG drags

Nifty IT was the top performer, rising nearly 3%, led by TCS, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro. Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma also closed higher. On the other hand, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Auto ended in the red [citation:1].

Bharti Airtel fell 2.31% and Power Grid declined 2.14%, while Nestle India dropped 1.64% [citation:1].

Outlook: "The rangebound market construct will continue so long as crude prices remain elevated. Nifty has support at 24,100-24,150 and resistance at 24,350-24,400," analysts said.

Rupee steady; Brent crude slips below $90

The rupee ended at 95.38 against the US dollar, staying within a narrow range as the RBI stepped up intervention. The rupee has remained in a 35-paise band for the past 11 trading sessions [citation:15].

Brent crude declined 0.3% to $89.45 per barrel, putting it on track for a weekly decline of about 5.3% [citation:6].

India VIX declined 3.52% to close at 10.68 — reflecting improved risk sentiment as the market stabilised [citation:4].

FII/DII flows (provisional): Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹298.26 crore on a net basis on Thursday [citation:5].

Indian equity benchmarks rebounded strongly on Friday, with the Nifty ending at 24,175.65 and the Sensex at 77,264.51, as IT stocks led a broad-based rally [citation:11].

✅ Positives: Nifty IT surged ~3%, led by TCS (+4.16%) and Tech Mahindra (+3.53%). Nifty Metal and Pharma also closed higher. India VIX declined to 10.68, its lowest level in weeks [citation:1].

⚠️ Negatives: Bank Nifty ended flat, while Bharti Airtel fell 2.31%, Power Grid dropped 2.14%, and ITC declined over 1%. FIIs were net sellers on Thursday [citation:5].

🎯 What's next: The Nifty closed Friday at 24,175.65. Immediate support stands at 24,100, with resistance at 24,350-24,400. All eyes are on US PCE inflation data and Fed Chair Warsh's speech for further direction. Investors should focus on sectors showing resilience like IT and Metal.