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Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 593 points to end above the 55,000-mark for the first time on Friday, propelled by gains in index heavyweights TCS, Reliance Industries and HDFC twins.
The 30-share index rose 593.31 points or 1.08 per cent to its new all-time high of 55,437.29. It touched an intra-day record of 55,487.79.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty breached the 16,500 level, advancing 164.70 points or 1.01 per cent to its fresh closing peak of 16,529.10. It surged to a record of 16,543.60 during the day.
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TCS was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by L&T, Bharti AIrtel, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and Reliance Industries.
On the other hand, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy's, Bajaj Finance and NTPC were among the laggards.
"Sustained rebound in IT followed by recovery in financials and consumers aided benchmark indices to defy weak cues from Asian markets and scale fresh records, said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.
IT stocks remained in focus throughout the week and investors lapped-up quality IT names due to sustained double-digit revenue growth visibility backed by strong deal wins, he added.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended in the red.
Equities in Europe were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.10 per cent to USD 71.24 per barrel.
Rupee Ends Flat Against US Dollar
The Indian rupee reversed all its intra-day losses to close almost flat at 74.24 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, tracking a strong rally in domestic equities.
Besides, a weak American currency against its major rivals and lower crude prices also helped the rupee to recover, forex dealers said.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened weak at 74.27 against the US dollar and remained in the negative territory for most of the session. However, towards the fag-end of the session, the local unit recovered all its losses.
The rupee witnessed an intra-day high of 74.24 and a low of 74.32 during the session.
It finally ended at 74.24 against the American currency, registering a gain of 1 paisa over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 74.25 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.14 per cent to 92.91.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.13 per cent to USD 71.22 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 212.11 crore, as per exchange data.
Gold jumps Rs 222; Silver Rallies Rs 100
Gold in the national capital on Friday jumped Rs 222 to Rs 45,586 per 10 gram amid a recovery in international precious metal prices and rupee depreciation, according to HDFC Securities.
In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 45,364 per 10 grams.
Silver also gained Rs 100 to Rs 61,045 per kilogram from Rs 60,945 per kilogram in the previous trade.
In the international market, gold was trading with gains at USD 1,757 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 23.30 per ounce.
"Gold prices are fluctuating with minor recovery," according to HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst (Commodities), Tapan Patel.
