New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices continued to gain on Friday, with the BSE Sensex climbing 644 points in early trade, mirroring a firm trend in the global markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading with a jump of 644.15 points to 52,909.87 in early trade. The NSE Nifty also gained 192.6 points to 15,749.25.
From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Dr Reddy's, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were the major gainers.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints and Maruti Suzuki India were the laggards.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai were quoting in the green in mid-session deals.
The US markets had ended with gains on Thursday.
"While markets may move sideways in the near-to-medium term, the bears may take a temporary break after the recent sell-offs, with a sharp fall in WTI crude oil prices bolstering the sentiment," said Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.17 per cent to USD 109.86 per barrel.
The BSE Sensex gained 443.19 points or 0.86 per cent to settle at 52,265.72 on Thursday. The NSE Nifty advanced 143.35 points or 0.93 per cent to 15,556.65.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 2,319.06 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)