Mkt heavyweights do heavy lifting

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply by nearly 1 per cent on Friday, buoyed by heavy buying in market heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC Bank, and ITC.

- SUNDAR SETHURAMAN

The recovery was powered by a softening in US Treasury yields, which improved risk appetite across global equities.

The Sensex surged 769 points, or 0.95 per cent, to close at 81,721, while the Nifty 50 climbed 243 points, or 0.9 per cent, to end the session at 24,835 points.

BSE-listed firms' total market capitalisation surged by ₹3 trillion to touch ₹442 trillion. The rupee appreciated by 0.9 per cent on Friday, the highest single-day gain since November 11, 2022, to settle at 85.21 per dollar. For the week, however, Sensex and Nifty declined by 0.7 per cent. The indices marked its best weekly run since April 18 last week as investors cheered a truce with Pakistan, trade talks with the US, and expectations of domestic interest rate cuts.

Long-dated US bond yields eased over the last two sessions after rising during the week. The 30-year US bond yield, after hitting its highest since October 2023, declined on Friday. It was trading at 4.98 per cent. The 10-year US bond yield was trading at 4.45 per cent on Friday, declining seven basis points.