Traders sent India's benchmark indices to fresh highs for the third consecutive session as positive global cues enabled fresh buying on domestic stocks.
On Dalal Street, financials and consumer stocks led the day's gains on positive sentiment.
Nifty rose as much as 1.22% to cross the key 25,700 mark while Sensex surged by 1.27% to 84,240. At 11:46 a.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 272 points, or 1.07% higher at 25,688, and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 932 points, or 1.12% at 84,117.
Sectoral indices like Nifty Financial Services, and FMCG climbed to fresh life highs during the session.
A significant trend in India is the outperformance of Bank Nifty, which is up two percent this week against Nifty's rise of 0.2%, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. "Weakness in the broader market on valuation concerns is another important trend. These trends are likely to continue."
Major Asian indices like Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng extended their gains buoyed by soft landing hopes in the US. Japanese stocks led the rise after the Bank of Japan maintained the status quo on its policy decision.
Positive sentiment for the region came as the latest jobs data in the US support the Fed's hopes on soft landing. The MSCI Asia Pacific index, excluding Japan, rose by 0.74% to 710.63 during the day.
Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., and Larsen and Toubro Ltd. were positively contributing to changes in the Nifty 50.
While those of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Cipla Ltd. and Grasim Industries Ltd. were negatively contributing to the changes.
On NSE, all 12 sectors gained, with Nifty Metal and Auto climbing the most on Friday morning. Nifty Pharma rose the least.
Broader markets also rose alongside the benchmark indices, with the Midcap and Smallcap trading 0.54% and 1.10% higher, respectively, through midday on Friday.
On the BSE, all 20 sectors advanced, with BSE Metal and Bankex leading the climb.
Around 2,472 stocks rose, 1,275 stocks declined, and 146 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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