Indian share markets edged higher in the afternoon session and finished the trading day on a firm note.

At the closing bell on Friday, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 124 points, while the NSE Nifty finished up by 42 points. The S&P BSE Mid Cap finished flat while & S&P BSE Small Cap finished down by 0.1%. Gains were largely seen in software stocks, oil & gas stocks and consumer durables stocks.

Let us now have a look at some of the major events that market participants will be tracking today.

Reliance Industries outperforms across segments

Reliance Industries hit a 9 year high of 1587 intra-day after a strong showing in the first quarter. Performance was robust across segments. Refining, the key segment of the company registered an 18% year on year growth. Petrochemical division also witnessed a 23% growth. The retail segment also had a strong quarter with a 74% growth year on year.

A surprise development was Reliance buying a 24.9% stake in Balaji Telefilms via an investment of Rs 4.13 billion. The move is aimed at sourcing content for its Jio platform. With its 125 million user base, Jio is expected to be the key growth driver for its future.

Wipro Zooms on Buyback Announcement

Wipro shares zoomed on Friday after the company announced a buyback worth Rs 110 billion. Wipro’s board approved the proposal to buyback 343.75 million shares at Rs 320 each.

In terms of results, Wipro posted slightly better than expected growth numbers with revenues growing 0.3% sequentially. Wipro joins a list of IT companies including TCS, Infosys, Cognizant who have recently announced buybacks.

Euro Peaks to Two Year High After European Central Bank Chairman Statement

European Central Bank (ECB) Chairman Mario Draghi hinted a tightening monetary policy next year. The currency market responded with Euro nearing a two year high of US$ 1.16 to the dollar, its biggest gain since June 27.