Stock market news: Benchmark indices opened Friday on a positive note, buoyed by encouraging earnings reports from key companies like Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank, bolstering market sentiment.

The blue-chip S&P BSE Sensex was up 115.97 points at 74,455.41, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 was up 35.65 points at 22,606.00 as of 9:30 am.

The shares of Tech Mahindra rose 13.67 per cent to an intraday high of Rs 1,347 apiece on the National Stock Exchange during early trade. On Thursday, the company reported a 41 per cent drop in its consolidated net profit in Q4FY24, which stood at Rs 661 crore.

Tech Mahindra's revenue from operations also fell 6.2 per cent to Rs 12,871.3 crore in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year. For FY24, the consolidated net profit decreased 51.2 per cent YoY, amounting to Rs 2,358 crore. Despite these figures, the company's stock soared as investors appeared optimistic about its future prospects.

“Expect Nifty session shall be overall range-bound today with a 100 points max up or down. Market Participants may build long delta position at the buy zone around 22,475/500 odd levels or at any breakdown towards 22,377, to book profits before the FED event around 22,700. BankNifty has a buy zone around 48255/335, extreme support at 48,000, for the upside target for the week at 49,000,” said Rahul Ghose Founder & CEO, Hedged.in.

Throughout this week, both the benchmark Nifty and S&P BSE Sensex have recorded gains in each session, climbing approximately 2 per cent. This upward momentum has been fueled by corporate earnings that largely met expectations and a reduction in concerns regarding escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have maintained a positive stance, being net buyers in 11 out of the last 12 sessions. This trend has mitigated the outflows from foreign investors, who have been affected by rising US Treasury yields amidst diminishing hopes for immediate rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Prashant Tapse, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities, noted, "Mostly in-line earnings, hopes of a majority win for the ruling party in the upcoming elections has been drawing out a lot of domestic investors to take exposure to equities."

Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank, both constituents of the Nifty 50, reported profits for the quarter that exceeded expectations, contributing to the positive market sentiment. However, Tech Mahindra, another key player, surged 10 per cent despite missing estimates, continuing a streak of disappointing results from IT firms.

Concerns over reduced spending by US and European clients, coupled with fading expectations of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts, have weighed on IT stocks. These apprehensions persisted following the release of hotter-than-expected core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data for the first quarter.