The Sensex and Nifty ended in the green for the seventh straight session led by metal stocks after global stocks recovered on delay in United States' final decision on possible military strikes against Syria. While the Sensex closed 91 points or 0.27% higher at 34,192, the Nifty ended at 10,480 level, a rise of 0.21%.
"Ever since RBI (Reserve Bank of India) cuts its inflation trajectory, the equities have done well. And if this trend of falling inflation and reduction in bond yields continue, good signs await the equity markets," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
The Sensex gained 1.5% on a weekly basis while the Nifty rose 1.30% during the same period. The successive growth in fourth straight months in the index of industrial production (IIP) at 7.1 per cent and moderation in consumer price index (CPI) inflation to 4.28 per cent, lifted the sentiment.
Midcaps and small cap indices on BSE rose 0.46% and 0.26%, respectively.
Gains were led by metal stocks with the BSE index rising 1% to 14,095 level.
Healthcare stocks too contributed to the gains with the BSE healthcare index rising 0.56% to 13,679 level.
Adani Ports (2.66%), Wipro (2.2%) and Kotak Bank (1.69%) were the top Sensex gainers.
SBI (1.22%), Axis Bank (1.17%) and YES Bank (0.66%) were the top losers on Sensex.
Reliance Industries closed 1.22% or 11.30 points higher at 938.5 level amid news that the Mukesh Ambani firm would buy close to 73 per cent stake in education technology provider Indiavidual Learning Private Ltd (Embibe) to become a majority shareholder. As part of the agreement, RIL will invest $180 million into the company over the next three years to ramp up artificial intelligence (AI) and further geographic expansion.
Infosys closed 0.58% higher at 1169 level ahead of the firm's Q4 earnings set to be announced in evening today. Market breadth was negative with 1285 stocks closing in the green against 1436 stocks ending in the red. 138 stocks were unchanged.
Global markets
Global stock markets were mostly higher Friday investor appetite for risk returned after the US said it was exploring the possibility of returning to trade talks with 11 Pacific countries. Sentiment also improved as the US said it is consulting allies before making a final decision on possible military strikes against Syria.
Britain's FTSE 100 was flat at 7,256.35 in early trading while France's CAC 40 rose 0.2 percent to 5,320.74 and Germany's DAX gained 0.5 percent to 12,472.06. Futures augured a tepid start on Wall Street with S&P futures up 0.1 percent and Dow futures also up 0.1 percent.
Asian markets finished higher. Nikkei 225 rose 0.6 percent to 21,778.74. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.5 percent to 2,455.07. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged down 0.1 percent to finish at 30,808.38. China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 percent to 3,159.05. Australia's S&P/ASX200 rose 0.2 percent to 5,829.10. Stocks in Taiwan, Singapore were higher but in the Philippines and Indonesia they were lower.