Benchmark indices snap weekly winning streak as oil jitters weigh on mkts

Sensex and Nifty ended the week with marginal losses, snapping a four-week winning streak despite Friday's sharp rebound led by Reliance Industries and IT stocks

Indian equity benchmarks snapped their longest weekly winning streak of the year, ending the week with marginal losses. The week was volatile, with the indices rising to a 10-week high on Monday but recording their sharpest single-day fall in more than three months mid-week. The decline was triggered by an escalation in US-Iran tensions, and a spike in crude oil prices, before Friday’s gains helped trim the weekly losses.

 

The benchmark Sensex ended Friday’s session at 77,569, up 828 points, or 1.08 per cent. The Nifty, meanwhile, closed at 24,207, gaining 244 points, or 1.02 per cent. For the week, both indices declined by 0.3 per cent, snapping a four-week winning streak, their longest run of continuous weekly gains this year. Total market capitalisation rose by ₹6 trillion to ₹482 trillion on Friday.

 

 

The Sensex’s gains on Friday were driven by Reliance Industries, which rose 2.3 per cent and was both the best performer and the biggest contributor to the index’s advance. ICICI Bank gained 1.4 per cent, while HDFC Bank rose 0.8 per cent. An index’s movement depends on the performance and weightings of its individual constituents.

 

Gains in information technology (IT) stocks following Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS’) better-than-expected results further boosted sentiment. The Nifty IT index gained 1.96 per cent on Friday.

 

In what had been expected to be a slow-growth quarter, India’s largest IT services company beat analysts’ growth estimates. TCS reported a net profit of ₹13,349 crore for the first quarter of financial year 2026-27 (Q1FY27), up 4.6 per cent from ₹12,760 crore in the year-ago period.

 

“Indian equities experienced a volatile week, with early optimism giving way to a sharp bout of risk aversion mid-week as escalating tensions in West Asia sent crude prices higher. However, the selloff proved to be shortlived, as investor sentiment improved markedly following encouraging Q1 business updates from the banking and IT sectors, which provided a constructive backdrop for the upcoming earnings season. This helped markets regain their footing, driving a broadbased recovery towards the end of the week,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.

 

Going forward, the geopolitical situation in West Asia and corporate results for Q1FY27 will determine the market’s trajectory.

 

“Going ahead, the immediate resistance for the Nifty is placed in the 24,350-24,400 zone. Any sustained move above this zone could result in the Nifty extending its pullback towards 24,550, followed by 24,700 in the short term. On the downside, immediate support for the Nifty is placed in the 24,050-24,000 zone,” said Sudeep Shah, head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities.

 

Market breadth was strong, with 2,809 stocks advancing and 1,462 declining. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers to the tune of ₹2,604 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers worth ₹2,020 crore.