Indian equity benchmarks continued to soar in mid-day trading on Friday, with both Sensex and Nifty reaching new intra-day highs, driven by strong performance in consumer and retail stocks ahead of the Union Budget 2025. The BSE Sensex surged 564.77 points or 0.74 per cent to 77,324.58, while the NSE Nifty rose 207.35 points or 0.89 per cent to 23,456.85 around 12.35 pm.
Leading the rally were consumer giants, with Nestle India surging 5.99 per cent and Tata Consumer Products gaining 5.78 per cent. Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), a defence equipment manufacturer, advanced 4.91 per cent, while retail chain Trent and watch-to-jewellery maker Titan Company rose 4.43 per cent and 4.38 per cent, respectively.
The broader market also showed strong momentum, with the Nifty Next 50 index increasing by 1.43 per cent to reach 63,083.60, and the Nifty Midcap Select index rising by 1.06 per cent to 11,920.10. Banking stocks saw modest gains, with the Nifty Bank index up 0.23 per cent at 49,426.75, while the Nifty Financial Services index added 0.17 per cent to reach 23,173.15.
On the other hand, ITC Hotels led the losses with a 2.05 per cent decline, followed by telecom major Bharti Airtel dropping 1.43 per cent. Financial services companies Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance fell 1.24 per cent and 0.31 per cent, respectively, while ICICI Bank declined 1.05 per cent.
Market breadth remained positive, with 2,566 stocks advancing against 1,168 declines on the BSE. A total of 3,881 stocks were traded, with 147 remaining unchanged. The session saw 52 stocks hitting their 52-week highs, while 68 touched their 52-week lows. Circuit filters were triggered for 405 stocks, with 206 hitting the upper circuit and 199 touching the lower circuit.
The market’s upward trend continued from the morning session, influenced by positive sentiment from strong US earnings, despite concerns over potential North American trade tensions. The upcoming Union Budget 2025 and recent Economic Survey findings continued to impact market movements, with a focus on infrastructure and green energy initiatives.
Trading volumes remained high across both exchanges as investors positioned themselves ahead of the Budget announcement, with broader market participation indicating sustained buying interest across various sectors.
