India’s Nifty 50 hits record high as IT stocks jump

BENGALURU: India’s benchmark Nifty 50 index hit a record high on Friday, boosted by information technology stocks after Accenture’s upbeat annual revenue forecast.

The NSE Nifty 50 was up 0.25% at 23,627.10 as of 9:19 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.23% to 77,650.48.

IT stocks, which have the second-heaviest weightage on the Nifty, jumped 2% after US-based sector bellwether forecast full-year revenue growth above expectations.

The results give Indian IT firms cues about demand in the key US market, where clients have curbed spending due to high interest rates.

Private banks lift Indian shares to record closing highs

Accenture’s report “bodes well for Indian IT as it has also been announcing strong deal flows in the past few months, which should be reflected in June-quarter deal bookings,” said Vikas Ahuja and Ashish Bansal, analysts at Antique Stock Broking.

Barring IT, most other sectors including private banks, which supported markets over the last two sessions, were muted.