MUMBAI: Rising for the fifth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex rallied 553 points on Friday, tracking gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC twins amid massive foreign fund inflow.
The 30-share BSE index ended 552.90 points or 1.34 per cent higher at 41,893.06. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 143.25 points or 1.18 per cent to 12,263.55.
Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging over 3 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, HDFC twins and Kotak Bank.
On the other hand, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement and Nestle India were among the laggards.
According to Hemant Kanawala, Head - Equity, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance, Indian markets rallied in sync with its global peers, putting to the backburner the uncertainties in the US presidential election.
They delivered a broad-based performance, with both Nifty and Nifty midcap indices returning 1.5 per cent over the last week.
Global markets have looked beyond the close finish in the US elections and are gearing up and reacting to a win for the democrats, he said, adding that a Democrat-led dispensation with a less restrictive trade policy, benign immigration policies will be a key positive for emerging markets, including India.
"We believe, collectively, these global factors will propel the markets to pre-COVID levels over the coming days," he noted.
Further, the US Federal Reserve said its key interest rate will be left at a record low, near zero. It reaffirmed its readiness to do more to support the economy under threat from a worsening coronavirus pandemic.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai ended in the red, while Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo closed with gains.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a negative note in early deals. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.93 per cent lower at USD 40.14 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 5,368.31 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data. In the forex market, the rupee settled 28 paise higher at 74.08 against the US dollar.