The Sensex and Nifty traded higher on Friday after a volatile start, supported by sustained foreign fund inflows and relatively moderate crude oil prices. The Sensex initially gained 33 points before gathering momentum to rise 443.87 points to 79,760.10. The Nifty, which had slipped 52.95 points in early trade, recovered to trade 81 points higher at 24,612.85. Mahindra & Mahindra led the Sensex gainers, climbing over 4% after reporting a 25% rise in consolidated second-quarter profit. Titan, HCL Technologies, TCS, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were also among the major gainers, while Asian Paints, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance and BEL traded lower.

The domestic market showed resilience despite a sharp global sell-off triggered by concerns over AI-related investments and semiconductor stocks. Wall Street witnessed its steepest losses since April 2025, with the Nasdaq plunging 5.52%, the S&P 500 falling 4.36% and the Dow Jones declining 3.44%. Asian markets also traded sharply lower, with Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi among the major losers. Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth nearly Rs 15,000 crore on Thursday, taking their purchases over five sessions to Rs 35,781 crore. However, Brent crude climbed 2.35% to $100.6 per barrel, keeping investors cautious.

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