Nifty crossed 23,100 in mid-session trade on Friday as IT stocks powered the rally. Tech Mahindra surged 8.04 per cent, leading the gains for the sector. While telecom and auto stocks also helped, aviation and FMCG shares fell. Overall, 2,324 stocks advanced while 1,810 stocks saw a drop in value.
Benchmark indices held gains through mid-session on Friday, with the BSE Sensex trading at 74,557.70, up 242.09 points or 0.33 per cent, and the NSE Nifty 50 at 23,097.35, up 100 points or 0.43 per cent, as of 1 pm. The market has crossed the 23,100 mark, a level analysts flagged as the key breakout trigger in the morning, though it has yet to sustain a close above it. Frontline indices have now formed higher intraday lows for the third consecutive session.
Information technology stocks continued to anchor the rally. Tech Mahindra was the top performer on the Nifty 50, surging 8.04 per cent to ₹1,782.60 after touching an intraday high of ₹1,797.00. TCS advanced 4.15 per cent to ₹2,447.50, while Infosys gained 3.68 per cent to ₹1,150.90. The Nifty IT index is now in its fourth consecutive session of gains, making it the best-performing sectoral index of the day.
Telecom and automobiles also contributed to the upside. Bharti Airtel rose 2.53 per cent to ₹1,900.90, while Mahindra & Mahindra added 2.09 per cent to ₹2,921.60.
On the losing side, aviation stocks came under pressure with IndiGo falling 2.87 per cent to ₹4,641.00, hitting a session low of ₹4,633.90. BSE Ltd declined 1.83 per cent to ₹3,365.30. Max Healthcare slipped 1.59 per cent to ₹844.40, Jio Financial Services fell 1.33 per cent to ₹216.10, and Tata Consumer Products dropped 1.29 per cent to ₹978.65. The Nifty FMCG index was the worst-performing sectoral index in mid-session trade.
Market breadth on the BSE was positive but not decisive. Of 4,388 stocks traded, 2,324 advanced against 1,810 declines, with 254 unchanged. A total of 103 stocks hit 52-week highs while 107 touched 52-week lows, and 175 stocks hit upper circuits against 170 in lower circuits. The Nifty’s advance-decline ratio stood at 26:24, reflecting a cautious tilt rather than broad-based conviction. Weakness in mid-cap and small-cap indices, which declined in Thursday’s session despite the large-cap surge, continued to limit the rally’s breadth.
On the derivatives front, SBI Securities noted meaningful call writing at the 23,200 and 23,300 strikes, pointing to dealer resistance in that zone. On the put side, 23,100 carried substantial open interest followed by 23,000, suggesting traders are using these levels as near-term floors. The support band is pegged at 22,960–22,980, with the next cushion at 22,790–22,810. A sustained move above 23,290 could extend gains toward 23,440. Sensex support lies at 74,200, with resistance at 75,100.
In commodities, WTI crude eased 1.69 per cent to around $95.90 per barrel, offering some relief after days of elevated prices that have weighed on import-sensitive sectors. The rupee strengthened further to around ₹94.76 against the dollar, down 0.30 per cent on the day, aided by offshore short-covering and continued RBI dollar sales. COMEX gold added 0.57 per cent to around $4,190 per troy ounce, while MCX gold gained a modest 0.13 per cent to approximately ₹147,700 per 10 grams, the divergence reflecting the impact of the stronger rupee on domestic bullion prices. COMEX silver outperformed, up 1.23 per cent to $57.85, with MCX silver adding 0.45 per cent to around ₹211,600 per kilogram.