Indian equity benchmarks SENSEX and NIFTY50 extended their winning streak to a third consecutive session on Friday, July 31, with gains led by Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports and Tata Steel. The SENSEX ended 166 points, or 0.21%, higher at 78,095, while the NIFTY50 gained 66 points to close at 24,384.
SENSEX, NIFTY50 Recover From Intraday Lows
The SENSEX climbed as much as 462 points from the day’s lowest level during the session. The NIFTY50 also moved higher after touching an intraday low of 24,300 and later reaching a high of 24,429.
Buying interest strengthened across several heavyweight stocks, helping the benchmark indices maintain their upward momentum for a third straight trading session.
Asian Markets Gain After Strong US Session
Asian equities ended higher after a strong rally in US markets. The positive sentiment followed Microsoft’s strong results, which indicated that the company’s heavy investment in artificial intelligence is beginning to translate into profits.
The gains in Microsoft also revived buying interest in other chipmakers. South Korea’s KOSPI surged 18%, while Japan’s Nikkei advanced 3.86%. China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.1%.
NIFTY Auto Leads Sectoral Gains
Domestic markets saw broad-based buying, with 12 of the 15 major sectoral gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange closing higher.
The NIFTY Auto index was the best-performing major sectoral index, rising 1.6%. NIFTY Financial Services, Media, Pharma, Oil & Gas and PSU Bank indices also advanced between 0.4% and 2%.
Consumer durables, IT and FMCG stocks, however, faced selling pressure during the session.
Broader markets also outperformed the benchmark indices. Both the NIFTY Midcap 100 and NIFTY Smallcap 100 indices gained 0.44%.
Bajaj Finance Shares Hit Record High
Bajaj Finance emerged as the top gainer on the NIFTY50 index. Its shares jumped as much as 9.3% to a record high of ₹1,151.50 after the company’s June quarter earnings surpassed analyst estimates.
Bajaj Finance reported a net profit attributable to owners of ₹5,986 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year, marking a 27% increase from ₹4,700 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The company’s net interest income also rose 23% year-on-year to ₹12,571 crore in the April-June quarter from ₹10,228 crore a year earlier.
Bajaj Finserv Gains After Q1 FY27 Results
Bajaj Finserv shares advanced 6.37% after the company reported a 12.31% rise in consolidated profit after tax attributable to owners to ₹3,132.35 crore in Q1 FY27.
The company had reported consolidated net profit of ₹2,789.05 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.
Revenue from operations increased 19.13% year-on-year to ₹42,036.90 crore during the quarter, compared with ₹35,288 crore in Q1 FY26.
Hyundai Shares Jump 9% on FY27 Growth Guidance
Hyundai shares rose as much as 9% during the session after Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Tarun Garg said Hyundai Motor India remains committed to achieving its stated FY27 guidance.
“achieve its stated guidance of 8-10% (YoY) volume growth for both domestic and exports as well as 11-14% EBITDA margin in FY27.”
The guidance covers volume growth across domestic and export markets along with the company’s targeted EBITDA margin for FY27.
Aether Industries Hits 52-Week High
Aether Industries shares surged as much as 8.29% to touch a 52-week high of ₹1,614.40 after the company reported strong quarterly earnings.
Its consolidated net profit rose 33.24% year-on-year to ₹62.81 crore in the quarter, compared with ₹47.14 crore in Q1 FY26.
Other NIFTY50 Gainers and Losers
Jio Financial Services, Mahindra & Mahindra, Shriram Finance, Tata Motors PV, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, HDFC Life, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Auto were also among the top gainers on the NIFTY50 index.
On the other hand, TCS, Eternal, Infosys, Max Healthcare, ITC, Wipro, Adani Enterprises, Tata Consumer Products, Nestle India and IndiGo were among the top NIFTY50 losers.
Market Breadth Remains Positive
The overall market breadth remained positive on Friday. On the NSE, 2,068 shares ended higher, while 1,255 stocks closed lower.
The strong participation across sectors and gains in several heavyweight stocks helped the benchmark indices finish higher despite weakness in IT and some consumer-focused stocks.
