Indian equity benchmark BSE Sensex ended 130 points higher
on Friday after gains in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank,
and Tata Steel ahead of the release of inflation and factory output data.

The Sensex surged 130.18 points or 0.22% higher at
59,462.78. The NSE Nifty ended 39.15 points or 0.22% higher at 17,698.15.

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A largely positive trend in global equities and foreign
capital inflows also supported the domestic equity markets. However, IT and
healthcare stocks remained a drag on the indices, traders said.

Investors picked up fundamentally strong stocks ahead of
IIP (Index of Industrial Production) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation
data to be released after market hours on Friday, brokers said.

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The broader indices ended in green with the BSE Midcap
index up by 0.15% and the Small cap index up by 0.39%. The top gaining sectoral
indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 2.47%, Energy up by 2.15%, Metal up
by 1.77%, Utilities up by 1.60%, and PSU up by 1.53%, while Healthcare down by 1.02%,
TECK down by 0.80%, IT down by 0.76%, Auto down by 0.23% and Capital Goods down
by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

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Top gainers from the Sensex pack were NTPC up by 3.26%,
Tata Steel up by 3.25%, Power Grid up by 2.24%, ICICI Bank up by 1.80%,
Reliance up by 1.64%, SBI up by 1.16%, ITC up by 0.69% and Asian Paints up by
0.65%.

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Among the laggards were Infosys down by 1.56%, Maruti
Suzuki down by 1.35%, Larsen down by 1.25%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.02%, Sun
Pharma down by 0.72%, Kotak Mahindra down by 0.70%, Nestle down by 0.70% and
Hindustan Unilever down by 0.66%.

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The rupee depreciated 4 paise to close at 79.66 against the
US dollar, following a strong US dollar in the overseas market and rising crude
oil prices.

In Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul ended with
gains, while Shanghai ended in the red. European markets were trading higher in
mid-session deals.

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Brent crude, the international oil benchmark was trading 0.40% higher at $100 per barrel.

According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional
investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the Indian capital market as they purchased
shares worth Rs 2,298.08 crore on Thursday.