By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -Indian benchmarks notched their fourth straight week of gains on Friday, their longest winning streak in 2025 so far, fuelled by stable quarterly earnings, strong festival season sales and easing global trade tensions.
On the day, the Nifty 50 fell 0.37% to 25,795.15 and the BSE Sensex shed 0.41% to 84,211.88 as investors booked profits and as caution over India-U.S. trade weighed.
The benchmarks rose 0.3% each for the week, and had risen 3% in the last six sessions.
India will not rush into signing any trade agreements and will reject conditions from partner countries that restrict its trading choices, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
“Reports about a trade deal with the U.S. led to some gains in the last few sessions, and the latest comments (from India trade minister) would likely have led to some caution,” said Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst.
India is in trade talks with several countries, including the United States, which has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods.
Nine of the 16 major sectors rose for the week. Small-caps and mid-caps added 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
Indian corporates, including Reliance Industries and banks reported largely stable earnings for the September quarter. PSU banks jumped 2.3% for the week.
IT stocks surged 3% for the week, the biggest gainer among major sectors, led by Infosys’ 5.9% rise after its promoters decided to not participate in the company’s share buyback.
Easing global trade tensions, particularly between the U.S. and China – also helped sentiment. The White House on Thursday confirmed U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next week.
This also boosted prices of base metals, with the metal index gaining 1% on Friday. The index is up 1.5% for the week. [MET/L]
Consumer goods companies fell 0.8% on the day, dragged by Hindustan Unilever’s 3.3% fall and Colgate-Palmolive (India)’s 2.1% drop after they reported muted September-quarter earnings.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Janane Venkatraman)
