Mumbai, Dec 14 : The surge in the Indian stock market on Friday helped the Indian benchmark indices end the week on a positive note. A strong 2,000-point rebound from the lows suggests that the buy-on-dips strategy is working well in the market, experts said on Saturday.

'With inflation coming within the RBI's tolerance level and an expectation of further ease in food prices on account of seasonal corrections in vegetable prices, it could build up the expectation for ease in monetary policy in February,' said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

On the last trading session this week, Nifty witnessed a sharp recovery of more than 2 per cent from day's low, rebounding from a significant dip earlier in the session, to close with gains of 220 points at 24,768 (+0.9 per cent).

Buying in FMCG, IT and banking stocks supported the recovery, even as broader market sentiment remained cautious.

'The intraday sell-off in Indian equities followed weakness across Asian markets, which posted steep losses amid a stronger dollar, rising US Treasury yields and continued skepticism over China's economic revival,' said Siddhartha Khemka from Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

The lack of clarity in China's stimulus plans weighed on metal stocks, dragging the Nifty Metal index down by 0.7 per cent.

On Friday, Sensex was up 843.16 points or 1.04 per cent, at 82,133.12. During the session, BSE's benchmark made an intra-day high of 82,213 after recovering from a low of 80,082.

Midcap and smallcap stocks underperformed compared to largecaps. Nifty midcap 100 index closed at 58,991, down 30 points or 0.05 per cent. and the Nifty smallcap 100 index closed at 19,407, down 59 points or 0.30 per cent.

According to experts, a gradual recovery in IIP and core sector data is pointing towards a better H2 earnings performance compared to subdued H1 FY25.

Currently, it is believed that FII selling has subsided, at least in the short to medium term, which will add further impetus to the sentiment, they added.

The Nifty IT index reached a new high and rallied around 3 per cent during the week after US inflation data met expectations, boosting hopes for a Fed rate cut next week.

Meanwhile, gold witnessed a sharp sell-off as profit booking intensified following mixed signals from US economic data. MCX Gold tumbled from Rs 79,000 to Rs 77,450. The current weakness suggests a potential trading range of Rs 76,000' Rs 78,000 in MCX, with the short-term outlook remaining cautious amid ongoing market volatility.

/IANS