Indian equities headed into Diwali with a second straight weekly gain, powered by cheaper crude amid rising hopes of an end to the Iran war following US President Donald Trump's midterm election setback, and renewed foreign buying, even as a sell-off in technology stocks battered several overseas markets.
The Nifty and Sensex rose nearly 9% each during the week, marking their strongest weekly gains since February 2021, when optimism over a growth-oriented Union Budget had sparked a rally of nearly 10%. On Friday, the Nifty rose 2% to close at 25,030.35, while the Sensex advanced 2.2% to 81,028.
The strong market momentum helped the index break above the 24,774.3 resistance level, not tested since 3 August. The current momentum could propel the market towards 25,178.65, the level at which it was trading before the West Asia war began February-end, said an analyst at Aditya Birla Money.
Consumer durables, realty and financial services led the weekly rally as investors favoured businesses tied to domestic demand.
India’s limited exposure to the global artificial intelligence (AI) trade helped it buck the sell-off elsewhere, said Kranthi Bathini, director of research at WealthMills Securities.