MUMBAI: Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Friday amid buying in IT firms and earnings-driven demand in the Tata Group's retail arm Trent.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 138.77 points to 74,289.81 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty was up 38.95 points to 22,967.10.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Trent jumped 6 per cent after the Tata Group's retail arm on Thursday reported a 25 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 468 crore for the September quarter, as revenue growth and operating leverage supported earnings amid an inflationary environment.
InterGlobe Aviation, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were also among the major gainers.
Bharat Electronics, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.19 per cent higher at USD 116.3 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 943.60 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index were trading lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoted higher.
The US markets ended lower on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Sensex rallied 905.01 points, or 1.24 per cent, to close at 74,151.04. The Nifty ended 237.90 points, or 1.05 per cent, higher at 22,936.75.