Indian equities ended higher on Friday, with the Nifty 50 index rising 0.08% to close at 21,450.05, as gains in power, banking and consumer durables offset declines in autos and healthcare.
The broader market saw 1,281 advancing stocks against 1,297 decliners on the National Stock Exchange, with 51 issues unchanged. The India VIX, a gauge of implied volatility based on Nifty 50 options, increased 4.28% to 11.22, reflecting modest uptick in market risk perception.
Power Grid Corporation of India led sectoral advances, climbing 2.87% to 272.40, while HDFC Life Insurance added 2.03% to 553.00. Nestle India gained 1.71% to 1,483.00. In contrast, Trent fell 1.70% to 2,919.40, Maruti Suzuki declined 1.55% to 13,595.00 and Apollo Hospitals dropped 1.00% to 8,648.00.
The BSE Sensex 30 ended flat at 71,200.50, with 2,098 gainers, 1,976 decliners and 173 unchanged. Power Grid led BSE gains at 2.66%, followed by Nestle India at 1.46% and Kotak Mahindra Bank at 1.08%. Decliners included Maruti Suzuki down 1.51%, HCL Technologies off 1.21% and Hindustan Unilever down 0.96%.
Commodities showed mixed performance, with gold futures for December delivery rising 1.62% to $4,645.64 per troy ounce. Brent crude for October delivery fell 0.27% to $93.53 per barrel, while U.S. crude slipped 0.18% to $86.67 per barrel. The U.S. dollar index eased 0.30% to 98.52, while the USD/INR pair strengthened 0.03% to 95.73.
