Mumbai, April 10 The benchmark stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty, surged by over 1% on Friday, driven by buying in banking stocks and a positive trend in global equities.
Investor sentiment improved amid hopes of further easing in the West Asia crisis ahead of US-Iran negotiations and lower crude prices, analysts said.
After remaining in positive territory throughout the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex later jumped by 918.60 points or 1.20%, settling at 77,550.25. During the day, it surged by 990.85 points or 1.29%, reaching 77,622.50.
The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed by 275.50 points or 1.16%, ending at 24,050.60.
The positive trend was led by buying in banking, auto, and financial stocks, while IT stocks saw some profit booking after TCS' financial results.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank, and State Bank of India were the major gainers.
On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech were the laggards.
In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended higher.
European markets were trading in positive territory.
US markets ended higher on Thursday.
"Indian equity markets closed the week's final session on a positive note, with the Nifty experiencing a range-bound session with a bullish bias, gaining over 1% as investors carefully priced in expectations of progress from the upcoming US-Iran negotiations, even as the ceasefire continued to remain uncertain," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
Global markets shared a similarly constructive sentiment, with the US, European, and Asian indices all in the green, with Asian markets leading the gains, he added.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed by 0.57% to USD 96.47 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,711.19 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 955.90 crore.
On Thursday, the Sensex dropped by 931.25 points, or 1.20%, to settle at 76,631.65. The Nifty declined by 222.25 points or 0.93%, ending at 23,775.10.