IT Has Its Best Week Since 2008, the Rupee Bounces, and Nifty Posts Its Best Week Since April
Nifty rose 2.8% to 23,146.15, its second straight weekly gain, as IT stocks jumped 11.7% on strong results and money rotating out of the global AI trade. The RBI's new curbs gave the rupee its best week in seven months. The warning signs: inflation came in hotter in both India and the US, and after India closed on Friday, Brent touched $110.
+2.8% — best week since April
Best week since April 2008
Up ~2%, best week in seven months
Up from 4.83%; highest this year
- Markets. Nifty rose 2.8% and the Sensex 3.1%, their best week since April. Nifty is now 5.8% below its August level, from 8.7% two weeks ago.
- IT. Nifty IT jumped 11.7%, its best week since 2008, on strong results and money rotating out of global AI stocks.
- The rupee. New RBI curbs on dollar demand lifted the rupee about 2% to 94.96.
- Inflation. India hit 5.54% and the US 3.7%, both above forecasts. More RBI hikes are now expected.
- Oil. Brent hit $110 on Friday night, after India had closed. Monday is the first chance to react.
Two Up After Eight Down — and This One Wasn't Close
Last week came down to Friday. This week, three strong days did the work
Nifty 50, weekly change, by week ending. Now about 5.8% below its August 7 level.
| Date | Nifty 50 | Change | What Drove It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, 9 Oct | 22,520.45 | Ref. | Prior week's close |
| Mon, 12 Oct | 22,363.35 | −0.70% | Early gains fade; bond yields, FII selling |
| Tue, 13 Oct | 22,721.95 | +1.60% | HCLTech results spark a 5.2% IT rally |
| Wed, 14 Oct | 22,622.70 | −0.44% | Brent nears $107 as Houthis hit Saudi sites |
| Thu, 15 Oct | 22,997.35 | +1.66% | IT extends gains; oil eases, rupee firms |
| Fri, 16 Oct | 23,146.15 | +0.65% | Tech Mahindra +8.5% on results; IT +3.9% |
After a weak Monday, IT took over: HCLTech's results lifted the sector 5.2% on Tuesday, and on Thursday, as a global AI sell-off sent money into Indian IT, Nifty rose 1.66%. For the week, Nifty gained 625.70 points and the Sensex 2,257 points to 74,729.27 — their best week since the week to April 10. The gains were narrow, though: mid-caps rose just 0.6% and small-caps slipped 0.1%.
Two winning weeks are real progress, but this one was narrow. If you hold a Nifty index fund, a large share of this week's gain came from IT alone; a mid-cap or small-cap fund likely did much less.
Strong Results, and a Global Hedge Against the AI Trade
Five big IT stocks rose 13–18% in a week while AI stocks abroad tumbled
The Nifty IT index rose 11.72%, its steepest weekly gain since April 2008. Tech Mahindra gained 18.2%, TCS 14.3%, and Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech about 13.4% each. Two things drove it.
The results. HCLTech reported on Monday: profit up 21% to ₹5,132 crore. Its shares jumped 8.4% on Tuesday. Tech Mahindra's profit rose 33%, its operating margin widened by 260 basis points to 14.8%, and it proposed a 1:1 bonus issue. Wipro was weaker — profit fell 1.4% and revenue was flat in constant currency — but its shares rose with the sector.
The rotation. After hot US inflation data on Wednesday, global investors dumped AI stocks over worries about how the AI build-out will be funded. The Nasdaq fell 4.5% for the week. Some of that money moved into Indian IT services — a sector that missed the AI boom, which JP Morgan had called a "natural AI hedge".
IT stocks fell hard this year on fears that AI would eat their business; this week investors bet the other way. Moves this sharp can reverse quickly — worth remembering before chasing them.