The Indian equity benchmarks opened higher on Friday, October 23, with the SENSEX climbing as much as 517 points to 73,540. At 9:22 a.m. the index was up 291 points, while the NIFTY50 advanced 38 points to 22,726. The rally was led by gains in information technology heavyweights, with Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and HCL Technologies among the top movers. The intraday high for the NIFTY50 reached 22,787.

The NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 22,787, driven by performance from Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and HCL Technologies. These six names were the most active in the benchmark, each posting significant gains that lifted the broader index. The technology sector’s strength was mirrored in the NIFTY IT index, which jumped over 2% as investors shifted focus away from AI‑related stocks after a sharp overnight selloff.

Asian markets opened lower, with Japan’s Nikkei falling 2%, China’s Shanghai Composite down 2.13%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipping 0.45% and South Korea’s KOSPI dropping 2.5%. The decline was attributed to a surge in crude prices and a selloff in technology shares. Over the night, U.S. equities closed lower on Thursday, dragged down by a selloff in artificial‑intelligence stocks while oil surged to its highest level since May. Brent crude futures climbed as much as 1.35% to a fresh five‑month high of $114.7 per barrel.

AI‑related stocks have been swinging on worries that their boom may be under threat because of how expensive it’s become to borrow money to build data centres and buy more AI chips. Concerns also remain that their prices shot too high following a yearslong frenzy, even though companies in the industry continue to report growth, news agency AP reported. The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s top exporter prompted Saudi Aramco to order the evacuation of its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf near Bahrain, Reuters reported, as fighting intensified between the world’s largest crude exporter and Yemen‑based Houthis.

All major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange, barring the measure of IT shares, were trading lower, led by the NIFTY Metal index’s over 1% fall. NIFTY Consumer Durables, PSU Bank, Media, Auto, Bank and Financial Services indices also declined between 0.2% and 1%. On the other hand, IT shares were witnessing buying interest as anti‑AI trade played out following a sharp selloff in AI‑related shares overnight. The NIFTY IT index jumped over 2%, reflecting renewed investor confidence in technology stocks amid broader market volatility.

Among the individual shares, Swiggy fell 10% to an intraday low of ₹190 after its net loss narrowed to ₹992 crore at the end of the September quarter from ₹1,092 crore a year earlier. Sequentially, the company’s loss expanded from ₹791 crore in the first quarter of FY27, according to a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations surged 36.14% YoY to ₹7,571 crore during the quarter under review, compared with ₹5,561 crore in the July‑September quarter of the 2025‑26 fiscal year (Q2 FY26). Hindalco was the top loser in the NIFTY50 index, falling 1.94% to ₹868. Tata Steel, Eicher Motors, Adani Enterprises, Titan, Tata Motors PV, HDFC Life, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Coal India, Power Grid and Jio Financial Services also fell between 1% and 1.8%. On the flip side, TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Apollo Hospitals, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries and Tata Consumer Products were top gainers in the NIFTY50 index. The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2,446 shares were falling while 609 were advancing on the NSE.