Indian benchmark indices ended the day on a cautious note, retreating from intraday levels as selling pressure in IT and select large-cap stocks weighed on sentiment. The session remained range-bound, with markets bouncing off lows — a trend observed throughout the week. The Nifty 50 closed down approximately 0.26% at around 25,665, while the Sensex settled lower by about 245 points (0.29%) to finish near 83,383. Despite the modest pullback in frontline indices, broader markets showed resilience, with the Nifty Midcap 100 gaining around 0.3%, helping many portfolios end the day in positive territory.

Sectoral performance was mixed. Metals led the gains, buoyed by positive momentum in the commodity space. Tata Steel emerged as one of the top performers in the Nifty pack, rising close to 3.5%, while Hindalco added around 2%. PSU banks also outperformed, with Axis Bank and NTPC among the notable advancers. On the flip side, IT stocks faced profit-taking, with TCS declining about 2% and Asian Paints slipping 2.5% in a subdued trading session for consumer names. Maruti Suzuki shed around 1.5%. Key individual stock movers stole the show in the broader market. Freight wagons manufacturer Jupiter Wagons surged more than 10%, continuing its strong run amid railway sector optimism. Tourism Finance climbed close to 10%, while Union Bank of India was the standout performer of the day, rallying nearly 7.5% after a solid quarterly performance. Puravankara rose 6.5% following a positive operational update that impressed investors. Meanwhile, NALCO and Hindustan Zinc extended gains on the commodity theme, with Vedanta also reviving impressively — up nearly 50% over the past six months on improved moves and sentiment.

In the IT space, attention remained on Infosys, which witnessed a sharp intraday spike despite a largely uneventful period following recent quarterly numbers. Market participants noted that the stock had been under pressure earlier in the week (down 0.5-1% week-to-date before the move), with no major fresh triggers beyond the broader earnings context. Peers delivered mixed but largely in-line or better-than-expected results, with HCL Tech posting a beat and TCS coming in operationally on expectations.