The benchmark BSE Sensex on Friday closed 148 points up at 27,957.50 after briefly staying above the psychological 28K-level on better-than-estimated corporate earnings and firm Asian cues.
Similarly, the broader 50-issue CNX Nifty rallied to a high of 8,489.55, just ten points shy from 8,500-mark, before settling at 8,458.95.
IT, pharma, capital goods, refinery and tech counters attracted heavy buying while shares of consumer durable, banking, realty and metal sectors witnessed profit-booking.
The 30-share barometer moved in a range of 28,071.16 and 27,828.61 before ending at 27,957.50 — a level not seen since April 17, 2015 when it had settled at 28,442.10 — showing a rise of 148.15 points or 0.53 percent.
HDFC was the top gainer from the 30-share Sensex pack with a rise of 2.51 percent while TCS came in second with a surge of 2.42 percent.
Shares of banking giant SBI reacted downwards after initial smart gains on profit-booking despite the lender reporting better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings.
SBI today reported 23 percent jump in standalone net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2015 at Rs 3,742.02 crore on improvement in asset quality.
Meanwhile, on a weekly basis, the Sensex shot up by 633.80 points, or 2.32 percent, completing three weeks of gaining streak.
On the overseas front, Asian stocks finished strong following record closing of S&P 500 on Wall Street yesterday with prospects for a Federal Reserve rate hike in June all but quashed.
Key indices from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan finished higher in the range of 0.30-2.83 percent.
“Local indices traded higher on investor confidence and closed on a positive note. Indices added almost half percent during the day as the bluechips traded higher on value buying,” said Jignesh Chaudhary, Head of Research, Veracity Broking.
Overall, 17 out of 30 Sensex-based components closed with gains while 12 others finished with losses. ICICI Bank held stable.
Major gainers were Sun Pharma (2.29 percent), ONGC (1.53 percent), Larsen (1.04 percent), BHEL (0.71 percent), Tata Motors (0.66 percent) and RIL (0.64 percent).
However, SBIN dropped 2.38 percent, followed by Hindalco (1.30 percent), VEDL (0.67 percent), Wipro (0.66 percent) and Tata Power (0.59 percent).
Sector-wise, BSE IT index gained the most by rising 0.91 percent, followed by Healthcare (0.86 percent), Capital Goods (0.78 percent), Oil & Gas (0.60 percent), Teck (0.60 percent), FMCG (0.37 percent), Auto (0.27 percent) and Power (0.17 percent).
Total market breadth remained negative as 1,518 stocks closed lower, 1,197 finished higher and 119 ruled steady.
