Nifty Records Sharpest Single-Day Rally in Over Two Months on Friday, Snaps Historic Eight-Week Losing Streak

Indian stock markets ended Friday's session with strong gains as investors returned to equities after two consecutive sessions of losses, including Thursday's sharp sell-off.

Positive momentum in IT stocks, a decline in crude oil prices and some relief in global bond yields helped the benchmark indices recover.

The recovery was visible from the opening bell. The Nifty 50 opened at 22,314.95, while the Sensex began the session at 72,776.67. Buying interest strengthened as trading progressed, helping both indices extend their early gains.

By the closing bell, the Nifty 50 had advanced 288.65 points, or 1.30%, to 22,520.45, ending its two-session losing streak. The BSE Sensex gained 879.09 points, or 1.23%, to settle at 72,472.33.

The rebound also helped the Nifty end the week with a gain of 0.44%, breaking an eight-week losing streak.

Nifty IT Index Gained Over 3% Following TCS Q2FY27 Earnings

Information technology (IT) stocks attracted strong buying interest after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced its financial results for the September 2026 quarter.

TCS reported consolidated revenue of ₹73,188 crore for Q2FY27, reflecting an increase of 11.2% compared with the corresponding quarter last year. Consolidated net profit rose approximately 15% YoY to ₹13,884 crore.

The company's operating margin stood at 24%, while annualised revenue from artificial intelligence-related services crossed $3.1 billion. Growth in the banking, financial services, manufacturing and technology services segments also supported its quarterly performance.

The earnings announcement helped improve sentiment towards IT companies. TCS shares gained 3.85%, while buying interest was also visible in Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra.

The Nifty IT index advanced approximately 3.02%, emerging as the top performing sector of the day. 

Broader Markets Recover: Nifty Midcap Jumped 1.55%

Buying interest extended beyond benchmark stocks, with midcap and smallcap shares also participating in Friday's recovery.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index gained approximately 1.55%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced around 0.55%. Both indices had fallen more than 2% in the previous session, making Friday's rebound particularly notable.

Easing Crude Oil Prices Provide Relief to Indian Equities

A pullback in international crude oil prices offered some support to domestic equities.

Brent crude moved towards $103 per barrel after trading above $105 on Thursday amid continuing tensions involving the US and Iran. The decline provided temporary relief to concerns surrounding India's energy import costs.

Lower crude oil prices are generally favourable for India, which depends heavily on imported petroleum. A sustained decline could ease pressure on inflation, the trade balance and corporate operating costs.

Meanwhile, US Treasury yields softened from their recent highs, providing some relief to equity markets. Nevertheless, borrowing costs remained elevated, and investors continued to monitor developments in crude oil, bond yields and global geopolitical tensions.

Indian Rupee Remains Under Pressure Despite RBI Rate Hike

The Indian rupee continued to face pressure against the US dollar despite the Reserve Bank of India's recent monetary policy tightening.

The domestic currency closed at ₹96.73 per US dollar on October 9, compared with approximately ₹96.78 in the previous session. Although the rupee recovered marginally on Friday, it recorded a decline on a weekly basis.

Earlier in the week, the RBI raised the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% and shifted its monetary policy stance to 'calibrated tightening'.

European Markets Trade Higher as Global Sentiment Improves

European equity markets were trading firmly in positive territory on Friday, reflecting an improvement in global risk sentiment.
Germany's DAX index advanced 1.06% to 25,069.23, while the UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.91% to trade at 10,536.62. France's CAC 40 also rose 0.74% to 7,786.71.

US Stock Futures Rise; Nasdaq 100 Leads Gains

US stock index futures also pointed towards a positive opening for Wall Street on Friday.

Dow Jones futures for December 2026 gained 0.14% to 51,565, while S&P 500 futures advanced 0.39% to 7,846.75.

Technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures outperformed the other major indices, climbing 0.79% to 31,213.75.

The stronger performance of Nasdaq futures indicated relatively better sentiment towards technology stocks ahead of the US trading session.