New Delhi: Equity benchmarks began the trade on a positive note on Friday in tandem with largely firm Asian markets and ahead of the RBI's policy meeting outcome. The 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 227.89 points to 58,526.69 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 64.35 points to 17,446.35.

Among the Sensex constituents, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Titan were the major gainers.

Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki India, IndusInd Bank and HDFC were the laggards.

In Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo were trading in the green, while Hong Kong quoted lower.

The US markets had ended on a mixed note on Thursday.

The BSE Sensex ended 51.73 points or 0.09 per cent lower at 58,298.80 on Thursday. The Nifty dipped 6.15 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 17,382.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude went higher by 0.15 percent to USD 94.26 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital markets as they bought shares worth Rs 1,474.77 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.

"The momentum in the market now is influenced by global cues and strong FII buying… The decline in Brent crude to USD 94 is positive for India's macros and the dip in dollar index to below 106 again augur well for capital flows to India," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

(With PTI inputs)

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