The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a flat-to-positive start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 25,145 level, a premium of nearly 15 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

Nifty IT extended its winning streak for the fourth consecutive session, rising 0.8 percent ahead of the Q2 FY25 earnings season, driven by gains in Tech Mahindra, HCLTech, and TCS.

Nifty is trading at 21.5 times its one-year forward earnings, which is above its historical average of 20.4 times. India is being perceived as relatively expensive market compared with other emerging market peers.

The Nifty 50 closed the session with a gain of 0.88%, finishing above the 25,000 mark at 25,013 points. Similarly, the Sensex wrapped up the day with a 0.70% increase, settling at 81,616 points.

Concerns over the escalating conflict in the Middle East have raised fears of potential disruptions to crude supplies from the top oil-producing region, pushing prices higher—a situation that impacts net importers like India.

India stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Real Estate, Capital Goods and Auto sectors led shares lower. At the close in NSE, the Nifty 50 fell 2.12%, while the BSE Sensex 30 index lost 2.

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a negative start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 25,425 level, a discount of nearly 50 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.