New Delhi: Indian equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded from a volatile start on Friday, defying a sharp sell-off across global markets, as sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and buying in select heavyweight stocks supported investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 443.87 points to 79,760.10 during morning trade, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 81 points to reach 24,612.85.
The recovery followed a subdued opening amid weak global cues. The Sensex initially traded around 79,343, while the Nifty witnessed selling pressure before both indices regained momentum.
Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as a major gainer, rising more than 4 percent after reporting a 25 percent year-on-year increase in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 4,587.88 crore for the September quarter.
The automaker's earnings were supported by robust revenue growth, particularly in its automotive business, despite commodity cost pressures linked to the West Asia conflict.
Titan, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were among the other prominent gainers.
Asian Paints, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance and Bharat Electronics, meanwhile, traded in negative territory.
Foreign institutional investors purchased Indian equities worth Rs 14,974.68 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
FIIs have invested a cumulative Rs 35,781 crore over the previous five trading sessions, providing crucial support to domestic equities despite profit-booking by domestic institutional investors.
"The blood bath in the US markets will impact most other markets today, but India is likely to be the least impacted," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited.
He said the sharp unwinding of artificial intelligence-related trades in global markets could ultimately benefit India by encouraging investors to diversify away from technology-heavy overseas markets.
Global markets witnessed intense selling pressure following a steep overnight decline on Wall Street, driven by concerns over stretched valuations in artificial intelligence-linked companies and semiconductor stocks.
The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.52 percent, the S&P 500 declined 4.36 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.44 percent on Thursday.
The weakness spread to Asian markets, with Japan's Nikkei 225, South Korea's Kospi, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's Shanghai Composite trading sharply lower.
Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said the global sell-off reflected a broad-based unwinding of AI-related positions, triggering risk aversion across international equity markets.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 2.35 percent to USD 100.60 per barrel, adding to concerns over India's import costs and inflation outlook.
Despite global uncertainty, domestic equities entered Friday's session on a strong footing following six consecutive sessions of gains.
On Thursday, the Sensex surged 2,008.61 points, or 2.60 percent, to close at 79,310.01, while the Nifty jumped 576 points, or 2.40 percent, to settle at 24,536.60.
Over the six-session rally, the Sensex advanced 6,063.98 points, or 8.27 percent, while the Nifty gained 1,837.75 points, or 8 percent.
Sustained foreign inflows and corporate earnings will remain key factors determining whether Indian equities can extend their recent rally amid heightened global volatility.
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