The S&P BSE Sensex ended at a two-month high on Friday, rebounded sharply by 183 points tracking the strength in global markets on the back of raised expectations of additional stimulus from the European Central bank (ECB).
The Sensex closed at 26,846 points, up 0.67%, while the 50-share Nifty rose by 43 points, or 0.53%, to end at 8,295.
"The Indian equity markets may have ended with gains on Friday with the Nifty just shy of 8300 mark. However, the fact remains that indices ended almost near day's low as they failed to sustain the morning momentum," Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL.
"We are still convinced, though, that the weaker global demand will not leave the eurozone economy unaffected. If the ECB comes to share this view, it will revise its growth projections downwards in December and decide further expansionary measures," said Commerzbank Corporates & Markets.
A rebound in the domestic stock markets was largely led by buying of banking stocks after private sector banks posted better-than-expected results for the second quarter ending 30 September.
HDFC Bank had announced on Wednesday that its net profit was up by 20.5% in the second quarter in financial year 2015-16, helped by robust growth in interest income and other income.
"We believe HDFC Bank is among the most competitive banks in the sector, with an A-list Management at the helm of affairs, which has one of the best track records in the industry. We believe the bank is well positioned for high qualitative growth, with strong capital adequacy ratio (CAR), and top-notch asset quality," said Angel Broking in a note.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, Bankex was the top gainer followed by FMCG. Capital Goods and Auto were the top losers.
Axis Bank, ITC, Cairn India, HDFC, GAIL, NTPC, HUL, ACC and ONGC were among the gainers on National Stock Exchange (NSE), whereas Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel, Vedanta, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Wipro and Hero MotoCorp were among the losers.
Idea Cellular shares plunged by over 7% at close at Rs. 140.45 after the India's third-biggest mobile operator announced less-than-expected net profit of Rs 809 crore for the September quarter.
On the commodities front, gold prices fell Rs 135 to Rs 27,200 per 10 grams due to reduced demand from jewellers. Silver prices soared by Rs 385 to Rs 37,285 per kg on increased demand from industrial units and coil makers.
