Nifty 50 ends Friday 0.35% higher as IT offsets financial pressure

Indian equities finished the week with a narrow and uneven tone. The final session was firmer after technology stocks rallied on Nvidia's quarterly results and outlook, but the broader performance remained constrained by pressure on financials, elevated crude prices and geopolitical uncertainty linked to the US-Iran situation.

The move was therefore less a broad risk-on shift than a rotation towards exporters and technology. Domestic institutional buying provided support, while renewed foreign selling late in the week limited the market's follow-through.

IT was the clearest source of index support. TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCLTech were among the strongest large-cap contributors on Friday after Nvidia's results revived expectations around artificial-intelligence spending and the technology cycle. The immediate market response was concentrated in technology rather than spread evenly across sectors.

Pharma and healthcare also attracted selective defensive demand. Metals were firm earlier in the week, with JSW Steel, Hindalco and Tata Steel among the notable gainers on Monday. Market reports linked that strength to buying in the metal basket rather than to a single company-specific announcement.

Financial stocks were a counterweight. SBI Life, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Adani Ports and Bharat Electronics were among the names reported as drags during the week. Traders attributed the pressure to caution around crude, rates and geopolitical risk. The result was a market in which IT and selected defensives absorbed weakness in lenders, insurers and other domestically sensitive names.

The Reserve Bank of India kept liquidity management in focus. Its overnight variable-rate reverse-repo auction on August 27 drew bids of Rs 1,42,622 crore against a notified Rs 2,00,000 crore, with the accepted bids carrying a 5.24% cut-off and weighted-average rate. The RBI then notified a three-day auction of Rs 3,00,000 crore for August 28, to be reversed on August 31.

The August monetary-policy decision was already known during the week: the Monetary Policy Committee had unanimously retained the repo rate at 5.25% and kept a neutral stance. The significance for markets was the absence of near-term easing, alongside continuing sensitivity to food inflation, oil prices and global rates.

SEBI's activity included an IT Resilience Index for market infrastructure institutions and alignment of its cyber-incident reporting portal with the FIRE format. SEBI also extended the implementation timeline for provisions affecting exchange-traded funds, including base prices, price bands, pre-open call auctions and close-out procedures.

The main new macro print was July industrial production. MoSPI's quick estimate showed IIP growth of 6.7% year-on-year, with manufacturing up 7.3% and electricity and gas supply up 8.7%. The figures indicate that industrial momentum remained firm, although they are subject to revision. The material did not identify a new CPI, GST, trade or India PMI release during the week.

Global technology earnings were the most supportive external cue. Nvidia's results and outlook drove a sharp technology-led rise on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 advancing in the reported Thursday session. Asian markets were more cautious, with investors awaiting Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech; South Korean equities were also affected by the Bank of Korea's second consecutive rate increase.

Oil remained a market risk even as it eased late in the week. Brent was reported near $89 to $90 a barrel on August 28, with traders weighing the possibility of supply disruption against signs that immediate fears were moderating. For India, the combination matters through the import bill, the rupee and inflation expectations.

The rupee ended the week at Rs 95.3775 per dollar. Reuters reported that dollar liquidity ahead of the closure of a special deposit window helped the currency, while traders also pointed to likely RBI intervention earlier in the week. India's 10-year government bond yield rose to 6.9108%, with reports attributing the move to heavy bond supply and renewed rate-hike expectations.

Foreign flows were mixed. FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1,593.53 crore on August 25, but turned sellers of Rs 298.26 crore on August 27 and Rs 5,039.80 crore on August 28. DIIs remained buyers on those sessions, including net purchases of Rs 4,977.17 crore on August 27 and Rs 5,183.93 crore on August 28. The flow pattern shows domestic institutions cushioning renewed foreign selling rather than a decisive return of overseas demand.

Corporate news was concentrated in company-specific developments rather than a new large-cap earnings wave. Tejas Networks received a Letter of Intent worth Rs 1,537 crore from Tata Consultancy Services for radio-access-network equipment, accessories and installation materials for 18,685 sites under the BSNL 4G project. The announcement gave the stock a clear order-led catalyst, although the material does not provide a comparable market expectation.

NBCC secured domestic work orders worth Rs 134.27 crore. Its Q1 FY27 consolidated net profit rose 17.18% year-on-year to Rs 154.83 crore, while operating revenue fell 5.51% year-on-year to Rs 2,259.53 crore. The contrast between profit growth and lower revenue makes execution and margins more relevant than the order headline alone.

Star Cement's Q1 FY27 net profit fell 25% year-on-year to Rs 74 crore despite 3% revenue growth to Rs 943 crore and 4% volume growth. EBITDA declined 12% to Rs 203 crore, which the company attributed to higher fuel and logistics costs. Management's expansion plans worth Rs 3,080 crore in Rajasthan and Haryana are targeted for completion by FY29; no consensus estimate was available in the material.

Other reported results were mixed. PVR Inox returned to a Q1 FY27 profit of Rs 56.50 crore from a loss of Rs 54.50 crore a year earlier, while revenue rose 11.9% year-on-year to Rs 1,622.20 crore. AvenuesAI reported Q1 operating revenue growth of 109% year-on-year to Rs 2,680.4 crore and PAT growth of 45% to Rs 84.8 crore, and gave FY27 revenue guidance of Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 13,000 crore. The material does not provide consensus estimates for either company.

The primary market remained busy across mainboard and SME issues. Symbiotec Pharmalab, Hy-Tech Engineers and Skyways Air Services opened on August 24 and closed on August 27. Annu Projects opened on August 25 and closed on August 28.

Lumino Industries opened on August 27, while Priority Jewels opened on August 28 and is scheduled to close on September 1. The SME calendar included ABH Healthcare and Madhur Knit Crafts, which opened on August 24 and closed on August 27, and Sumax Engineering, which opened on August 25 and closed on August 28.

The week's listing schedule included Lalithaa Jewellery Mart, Horizon Industrial Parks and Fascinate Textiles on August 24; Sunshine Pictures and Shankesh Jewellers on August 25; Gaja Capital on August 26; and Tempsens Instruments on August 28. Listing-day prices and returns were not available in the material.