Benchmark indices were trading over half a per cent higher during the afternoon trade on Friday, led by financials and auto.
The market, after opening on a strong note amid firm global cues, remained largely in the green.
At 1 pm, the BSE Sensex was ruling at 52,790.43, up 305.76 points or 0.58 per cent. It hit an intra-day high of 52,871.29 and a low of 52,604.35. The Nifty 50 was trading at 15,811.10, up 88.90 points or 0.57 per cent. It hit an intra-day high of 15,833.20 and a low of 15,762.05.
Hindalco, L&T, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Tech Mahindra, BPCL, HDFC Life, HCL Tech and Adani Ports were the top laggards.
According to Gaurav Garg, Head of Research, CapitalVia Global Research, market sentiments remained positive with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's announcement that India has set a target of $400 billion in product exports for 2021-22.
However, investors remained cautious as a private survey revealed that activity in India’s main services sector fell dramatically in June as stricter limitations to curb a return of coronavirus cases battered demand and drove enterprises to slash positions at a rapid pace.
“After jobs statistics for June revealed solid hiring but continued weakness in the labour market, Wall Street hit record highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 closing up for the seventh day in a row. This will keep the Federal Reserve from hiking interest rates any time soon,” added Garg.
IT, PSU Banks under pressure
On the sectoral front, all indices except the Nifty IT and the Nifty PSU Bank were in the green. IT and PSU Bank stocks lagged while financials, auto and realty gained.
The Nifty IT was down 0.19 per cent while the Nifty PSU Bank was down 0.02 per cent.
The Nifty Bank and the Nifty Financial services were up 0.73 per cent and 0.81 per cent, respectively. Nifty Auto was up 0.74 per cent while the Nifty Realty recorded the highest gains and was up 2.12 per cent.
Broader indices outperform
Broader indices were also in the green, outperforming the benchmarks. The Nifty Midcap 50 was up 0.87 per cent while the Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.68 per cent.
Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.30 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.85 per cent.
The volatility index rose 0.04 per cent to 12.10.