RBI guidelines, foreign inflows fuel equity rush

Heavyweights lift benchmark indices 1.3%

- SUNDAR SETHURAMAN

Indian equity markets advanced on Friday, supported by gains in heavyweight stocks and optimism over the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) revised project finance guidelines. Investor sentiment was further lifted after US President Donald Trump indicated he would take two weeks to decide on possible intervention in the Iran-Israel conflict, easing concerns of an imminent escalation.

The Sensex closed 1,046 points, or 1.3 per cent, higher at 82,408, while the Nifty 50 ended the session at 25,112, up 319 points, or 1.3 per cent. HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank contributed more than half of the gains, each posting their biggest single-day advance since May 15. For the week, both indices gained 1.6 per cent. The market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE rose by ₹5 trillion to ₹448 trillion.

Financial stocks led the rally. HDFC Bank, which rose 1.6 per cent, was the largest single contributor to the Sensex's rise.