Domestic markets rose for the fourth straight session with the benchmark Sensex on Friday closing above the 29,000-mark for the first time since February 3 while the Nifty reclaimed 8,800-level as bluechips led by banking rallied after robust SBI earnings.
Besides, expectations of faster reforms and a growth oriented Budget as well as recent data strengthening the case for more monetary easing boosted the sentiment, brokers said.
Global cues were positive after news of a ceasefire in Ukraine and as Greece appeared closer to a possible overhaul of its bailout, they added.
Continuing its surge for the fourth session, the BSE Sensex recaptured the landmark 29,000-level for the first time since February 3. It hit an intra-day high of 29,154.67 before settling 289.83 points, or 1.01 per cent, higher at 29,094.93 over its previous close.
The gauge has now gone up by 867.54 points in four days.
Also, the NSE Nifty continued its winning run and zoomed to regain the 8,800-mark by soaring 93.95 points, or 1.08 per cent to close at 8,805.50. Intra-day, it shuttled between 8,729.65 and 8,822.10.
Buying activity gathered momentum soon after SBI posted better-than-estimated third quarterly earnings.
Stock of SBI spurted by 7.96 per cent after it reported over 30 per cent jump in net profit for December quarter.
Other Sensex components which supported the key benchmark to reclaim 29,000-mark were M&M, TCS, Coal India, ITC, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma, HDFC, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel. In the 30-share Sensex, 24 ended with gains and six ended lower.
Sectorwise BSE FMCG index gained the most by rising 1.77 per cent, followed by Healthcare 1.56 percent, Banking 1.32 percent, Auto 1.08 percent and Metal 1 percent among others.
Buying activity in smallcap and midcap shares also gathered momentum, with the BSE Midcap index rising by 0.74 and Smallcap index gaining 0.35 per cent.
Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) remained the net sellers on the bourses. FPIs sold shares worth a net Rs 406.28 crore on Thursday, according to provisional data.
Key indices in France, Germany and the UK rose by 0.48 per cent to 0.57 per cent.
Asian stocks also ended higher. Key indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan rose by 0.21 per cent to 1.07 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei eased by 0.37 per cent.
US stocks climbed on Thursday with major benchmarks nearing record highs, buoyed by a truce deal in Ukraine and strong quarterly earnings reports.
As many as 24 stocks out of the 30-share Sensex pack ended higher while only six finished lower.
In terms of gains, biggest Sensex winners were SBI (7.96 per cent), M&M (5.11 per cent), TCS (3.08 per cent), Coal India (2.37 per cent) and ITC (2.01 per cent).
Wipro (1.99 per cent), Sun Pharma (1.77 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (1.74 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (1.53 per cent), ICICI Bank (1.33 per cent) and HDFC (1.13 per cent) also notched up good gains.
However, Gail India fell by 3.96 per cent, BHEL by 3.12 per cent, ONGC by 1.99 per cent and HDFC Bank by 1.09 per cent.
Among the sectoral indices, FMCG index rose by 1.77 per cent, Healthcare 1.56 per cent, Bankex 1.32 per cent, Auto 1.08 per cent and Metal 1.01 per cent.
The total market breadth remained positive as 1,456 stocks ended in green, 1,429 finished in green while 98 ruled steady. The total turnover rose further to Rs 4,038.18 crore from 3,842.48 crore on Thiursday.