Equity investors became richer by over Rs 5 lakh crore in two days of recovery in the stock market amid firm global trends.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 462.26 points or 0.88 per cent to settle at 52,727.98 on Friday. It had gained 443.19 points or 0.86 per cent to 52,265.72 on Thursday.
Following the recovery in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms climbed Rs 5,06,975.56 crore to Rs 2,42,27,901.56 crore in two days.
"Markets edged higher for the second consecutive session, driven by firm global cues. After a gap-up opening, the benchmark remained in a range and finally settled around the upper band of the same. Markets are witnessing consolidation after the sharp decline and awaiting some fresh triggers," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research at Religare Broking Ltd.
On Friday, from the Sensex pack, M&M was the biggest gainer, with a gain of 4.28 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, TCS, Wipro, Sun Pharma, and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.60 per cent and the midcap index gained 1.53 per cent.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, telecom jumped 2.53 per cent, auto (1.98 per cent), power (1.73 per cent), consumer discretionary goods & services (1.68 per cent), consumer durables (1.47 per cent) and finance (1.40 per cent). Information Technology and teck were the only laggards.
As many as 2,401 stocks advanced, while 906 declined and 141 remained unchanged.
"Post correction over the past couple of weeks, equity markets ended this week with positive returns. Correction in crude oil prices from recent peak and softening in commodity prices offered some relief to the markets in an otherwise high global inflation environment," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities.