S&P BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty 50 LIVE Updates: Sensex, Nifty Follow Asian Markets Higher; Reliance Industries Rises 4% On Deal

Both benchmark indices gave up most of their intraday gains by the end of the session

Domestic stock markets rose more than 2 per cent on Friday tracking gains in global peers, as the country remained in the third phase of a nationwide lockdown with few exceptions to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex index rose as much as 2.05 per cent - or 645.13 points - to touch 32,088.51 during the session, whereas the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 9,382.65 compared to its previous close of 9,199.05. Both benchmark indices failed to sustain most of those gains by the end of the day.

Here are 10 things to know about the markets:

The Sensex closed 199.32 points - or 0.63 per cent - higher at 31,642.70 and the Nifty settled at 9,251.50, up 52.45 points - or 0.57 per cent - from its previous close.
In the 50-scrip Nifty index, 22 stocks rose for the day. Top percentage gainers were Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Tech Mahindra and Nestle - settling with gains of between 3.58 per cent and 4.31 per cent each..
On the other hand, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and JSW Steel - ending between 2.61 per cent and 3.70 per cent lower - were the top Nifty losers.
Reliance Industries (closing 3.62 per cent higher), Hindustan Unilever (4.81 per cent) and Infosys (1.80 per cent) were the biggest contributors to the gain in Sensex.
The Nifty Pharma index - which gauges the performance of 10 drug makers - rose 2.13 per cent, posting its biggest percentage gain since April 21. Sun Pharma (up 3.94 per cent), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (3.66 per cent) and Lupin (2.67 per cent) led gains in the sector.
Reliance Industries shares rose, also giving the biggest boost to the Nifty, after the billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate said US-based Vista Equity Partners will invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms. The deal will value Jio Platforms, which houses Reliance Industries's telecoms arm Reliance Jio Infocomm, at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore, Reliance Industries said early on Friday.
Analysts awaited financial results for the January-March period from large cap companies. ICICI Bank will report its earnings for the quarter ended March 31 on Saturday.
Equities in other Asian markets tracked overnight gains in Wall Street, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan last seen trading 1.00 per cent higher while Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was up 1.78 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI indices were up 0.59 per cent, 0.99 per cent and 1.32 per cent respectively.
European shares registered sharp gains in early deals, with the United Kingdom's FTSE benchmark index last seen trading 1.40 per cent higher. France's CAC and Germany's DAX indices were up 0.94 per cent and 0.88 per cent respectively at the time.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures were last up 1.15 per cent, indicating a positive start for the US markets later on Friday. On Thursday, US market benchmarks - S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite - had risen around 1 per cent each.