The Nifty 50 was up 0.09% to 17,929.95 as of 10:56 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.03% Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes advanced, with information technology stocks and public sector banks rising 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively.
However, financials fell over 0.6%, dragged by Axis Bank . The private lender lost over 2% after reporting a wider-than-expected one-time loss, mainly on expenses from the $1.41 billion Citi deal. Wipro Ltd rose over 3% and led gains in the IT index after approving a buyback worth 120 billion rupees. The IT firm posted a marginal slide in net profit. Analysts expect the benchmarks to see more upside after the Nifty 50 surpassed the 17,850 level on Thursday.
"Buy dips in May, do not shy away," wrote five equity analysts at ICICI Direct Research in a note on Friday. "The index has recovered from March low, absorbing global and domestic headwinds and could inch towards 18,300-18,500 in May." "If Nifty manages to stay above 17,850 levels, more upsides could be in store for the benchmark," said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.
The benchmark Nifty 50 has risen over 3% in April so far, on course for most monthly gains since November 2022.
Financials has risen nearly 6% this month, on
strong earnings and healthy profitability metrics, while IT has lost 5% since April 12, when Tata Consultancy
Services reported its quarterly numbers.
Among individual stocks, Glenmark Life Sciences Ltd surged over 9%, hitting a new 52-week high. The
company, which reported a 48% year-on-year rise in net profit,
is among the top gainers on pharma , which rose 0.5%.
($1 = 81.6950 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by
Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Janane Venkatraman)
