Gains in financial, metal and pharmaceutical shares pushed the markets higher Domestic stock markets started Friday's session on a positive note amid gains in Asian peers.
The S-P BSE Sensex index rose as much as 172.54 points to touch 40,952.13 on the upside and the broader NSE Nifty benchmark climbed to as high as 12,057.05, up 38.65 points from the previous close.
Gains in financial, metal and pharmaceutical shares pushed the markets higher however losses in information technology stocks capped the upside.
At 9:24 am, the Sensex traded 105.50 points - or 0.26 per cent - higher at 40,885.09 while the Nifty was up 27.60 points - or 0.23 per cent - at 12,046.00. Thirty stocks on the Nifty 50 index traded in the positive zone at the time.Top percentage gainers on the index at the time were Bharti Infratel, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Grasim and Asian Paints, trading between 0.87 per cent and 3.19 per cent higher. On the other hand, top laggards were Yes Bank, ONGC, UPL, Zee Entertainment and SBI, down between 0.55 per cent and 3.78 per cent. HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank were the top contributors to the gain in Sensex, together accounting for a gain of more than 90 points on the index. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a surprise move on Thursday left the key lending rate unchanged while maintaining an "accommodative" stance. The RBI however lowered its economic growth forecast to 5 per cent for the financial year ending March 2020.Equities in other Asian markets gained after US President Donald Trump said trade talks with China were "moving right along". MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.5 per cent higher while Japan's Nikkei was up 0.3 per cent.The US President's upbeat tone in comments on Thursday was enough to spark buying, despite a lack of agreement between Washington and Beijing over whether existing tariffs should be dropped as part of a preliminary deal to end their trade war.The S-P BSE Sensex index had declined 70.70 points (0.17 per cent) to end a volatile session at 40,779.59 on Thursday, and the broader NSE Nifty benchmark settled at 12,018.40, down 24.80 points (0.21 per cent) from the previous close.