Indian stock markets ended higher on Friday, marking the third consecutive session of gains ahead of Diwali. Both Sensex and Nifty touched 52-week highs during the day, driven by strong buying in financials, autos, and FMCG stocks.
At the close, the Sensex stood at 83,952.19, up 484.53 points (0.58%), while the Nifty ended at 25,709.85, up 124.55 points (0.49%). Analysts noted that the Nifty looks strong for further gains, and a “buy on dips” strategy could be effective in the near term. Support for Nifty is seen at 25,500, with resistance around 25,850–26,000 levels.
Among sectoral indices, FMCG led the gains with a 1.37% rise, followed by Auto, Banking, Financial Services, Pharma, Realty, and Consumer Durables. IT and Media stocks were among the top losers. Major Sensex gainers included Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, and ICICI Bank.
In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap 100 fell 0.57%, while the Nifty SmallCap 100 closed marginally lower by 0.05%.
Gold prices extended gains for the second day, rising Rs 1,700 (1.30%) to reach Rs 1,31,500 amid the ongoing US government shutdown and a weak dollar index. Analysts said gold could remain elevated as long as global risk sentiment stays weak, with support near Rs 1,28,000 and resistance around Rs 1,33,000.
Despite mixed global cues, domestic markets remained buoyant, supported by institutional inflows and broad-based buying, with large-cap stocks leading the rally.
-IANS
