FX.co ★ Sensex Ends at 3-Week High

India's BSE Sensex ended the session approximately 0.4% higher at 82,501 on Friday, reaching its highest level in three weeks and logging its second consecutive day of gains. This upward movement was primarily fueled by strong performances in the banking and energy sectors. Market sentiment was buoyed by positive developments in India-US trade talks and the persistent inflow of foreign institutional investments. Notably, foreign institutional investors have been purchasing Indian equities in the cash segment since October 7. Among individual stocks, State Bank of India emerged as a leading performer, climbing over 2%, while Axis Bank increased by more than 1%, bolstered by the central bank's new lending reforms and better-than-anticipated loan growth in the September quarter. Additionally, NTPC, India's largest integrated power utility, saw an increase of over 1% following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Gujarat to explore opportunities in both conventional and non-conventional energy sectors. Over the week, the index reported a 1.6% gain, marking its second consecutive weekly advance.