TCS Lifts Sensex 800 Points Off a 32-Month Low as IT Stocks Lead Friday's Rebound

A single earnings report did most of the heavy lifting on Dalal Street on Friday morning. Tata Consultancy Services climbed as much as 4.7% to ₹2,174 on the NSE after its September-quarter numbers, and the rest of the IT pack followed, pulling the benchmarks well clear of the 32-month lows they hit only a day earlier.

By 11 AM, the Sensex was up 809.27 points, or 1.13%, at 72,402.51, while the Nifty 50 had gained 279.75 points, or 1.26%, to 22,511.55. Both indices were trading at their highs of the session. India VIX, the market's gauge of expected volatility, was down around 5%, a sign that some of Thursday's panic was being unwound.

What TCS delivered

TCS reported late on Thursday a net profit of ₹13,884 crore for the July-September quarter, up about 15% from ₹12,075 crore a year earlier, and pointed to continued growth momentum. That was enough to trigger short covering in a stock that has lost roughly a third of its value in 2026 and was sitting close to the bottom of its 52-week range.

The rest of the sector rode the same wave. The Nifty IT index jumped nearly 2.8% at the open, the biggest gain among sectoral indices, with Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra among the top Sensex gainers alongside TCS. ITC and Adani Ports also contributed. On the other side, Eternal, ICICI Bank and BEL were among the early laggards.

The hole the market is climbing out of

Friday's bounce needs to be read against how deep Thursday's fall was. The Sensex dropped 1,045.46 points, or 1.44%, to close at 71,593.24, and the Nifty lost 1.64% to 22,231.80, as Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel, the RBI's first rate hike since 2023 sank in, and foreign investors kept selling for a ninth straight session. We covered that slide in our earlier report on Thursday's sell-off.

A modest easing in oil prices this morning gave buyers room to step in. The rupee also opened 4 paise firmer at 96.74 to the dollar, compared with Thursday's close of 96.78.

Why the rally may not be a clean break

The broader market was less convinced than the headline indices. The Nifty Midcap index was up about 0.5%, but the Nifty Smallcap index was slightly in the red, suggesting the buying was concentrated in large, beaten-down names rather than a broad return of risk appetite.

TCS itself faces a test. Technical analysts at Choice Broking cautioned that the stock is still trading below its key exponential moving averages and expect stiff resistance in the ₹2,250 to ₹2,330 zone, describing the current uptrend as likely to be short-lived. Elevated crude, with a Gulf of Mexico hurricane threatening US supply, and fresh US restrictions on green-card sponsorship for large tech employers remain overhangs for the sector and the market.

What to watch for the rest of the day

The key question is whether the Nifty can hold above the 22,500 mark into the close, and whether foreign investors finally pause their selling streak. More September-quarter results are due later on Friday, and with oil still above $100, any reversal in crude could quickly undo the morning's gains.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.