Stock market news, Oct. 20 -- The Indian stock market ended positively on Friday, with the Sensex increasing by approximately 484 points or 0.58% to reach 83,967, while the Nifty 50 rose by 125 points or 0.49% to settle at 25,709. This rally followed a sluggish start that was affected by weak Asian markets and geopolitical worries, but robust buying in major companies like Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, M&M, ITC, HUL, and Reliance Industries drove a strong closing. Leading sectors such as FMCG, automobiles, and banking contributed to the gains, whereas IT and media sectors experienced some pressure due to lackluster quarterly results.

As noted by Abhinav Tiwari, Research Analyst at Bonanza, market participants are likely to closely monitor...