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Equity benchmark Sensex climbed 175 points to close above the 56,000-mark for the first time on Friday, driven by strong buying in infrastructure, finance and pharma stocks despite lacklustre global cues.
A strengthening rupee, which surged 53 paise against the US dollar, further bolstered sentiment, traders said.
Staging a smart rebound after a gap-down opening, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 175.62 points or 0.31 per cent higher at its new closing peak of 56,124.72.
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Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty gained 68.30 points or 0.41 per cent to finish at a record 16,705.20.
UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 3.64 per cent, followed by L&T, Dr Reddy's, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, TCS, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Bank.
On the other hand, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Nestle India, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.07 per cent.
"Indian benchmark indices remained in positive territory even as global markets traded mixed as investors awaited announcements from the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. Mid and small-cap stocks continued their outperformance while recovery in the metal and pharma sectors guided them to be the sectoral leaders.
"Globally, markets are awaiting comments from the Fed chair on the US economy and clarity on its future policy changes," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
During the week, the Sensex gained 795.40 points or 1.43 per cent, while the Nifty advanced 254.70 points or 1.54 per cent.
"The domestic equity markets remained buoyant during the whole week, with advances seen in the frontline as well as the sectoral indexes. The progress which the markets have made so far is based on the expected performance of the economy, and therefore, of the corporates, mainly against the background of low interest rates and liquidity which is aplenty.
"FIIs have been sellers all the days while the mop up through IPOs stands at close to USD 2.50 billion so far this month. There has been some selling in the midcaps and small caps which stems from the fact that both the indexes have become relatively more expensive, and the large caps looked a shade better," said Joseph Thomas, Head of Research, Emkay Wealth Management.
All BSE sectoral indices closed in the green on Friday, led by capital goods (2.14 per cent), basic materials (1.69 per cent), industrials (1.58 per cent) and power (1.46 per cent).
The broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices spurted up to 1.04 per cent, outperforming the benchmark.
Global markets were steady ahead of a key speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell where he is expected to provide clues on the US central bank's timeline to taper its asset purchases programme.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended with gains, while Hong Kong and Tokyo settled in the red.
Equities in Europe were trading on a negative note in the afternoon session.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.94 per cent to USD 71.74 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,974.48 crore on Thursday, as per provisional exchange data.
Rupee Climbs To 10-Week High, Rallies 53 Paise Against US Dollar
The Indian rupee on Friday rose to a level not seen in over 10 weeks, surging 53 paise to close at 73.69 against the US dollar taking cues from bullish equities ahead of the key speech from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened strong at 74.17 against the greenback, then gained strength and settled for the day at 73.69, higher by 53 paise over its previous close of 74.22. This is the best closing level for the rupee since June 16 this year.
The domestic unit moved in a range of 73.69 to 74.20 in the day trade.
On a weekly basis, the rupee has appreciated 70 paise against the American crisis.
"The Indian rupee marked single biggest day gain after April 16, 2021 on back of month-end rebalancing and foreign fund inflows ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium later tonight," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
The global forex market remained calm ahead of the event while the domestic market took this as opportunity and has given range breakout, Parmar said adding that "the bias for the rupee has turned bullish after today's price action".
According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the local unit was range-bound for the whole week but had its biggest single session rise in over four months, on dollar sales by foreign banks amid anticipated inflows.
"The Indian Rupee appreciated against the US Dollar on Friday and had its best week in four months, as the central bank's absence from the market prompted exit of long positions on the dollar," Iyer said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, dipped 0.04 per cent to 93.02.
Gold Gains Rs 99 On Firm Global Trends
Gold in the national capital on Friday gained Rs 99 to Rs 46,312 per 10 gram amid a recovery in global precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.
In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 46,213 per 10 gram.
Silver, however, dipped marginally by Rs 32 to Rs 61,667 per kilogram from Rs 61,699 per kilogram in the previous trade.
In the international market, gold was trading higher at USD 1,798 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 23.66 per ounce.
"Gold prices traded higher with spot gold prices at COMEX trading at $1,798 per ounce on Friday," according to HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst (Commodities), Tapan Patel.
