New Delhi: The frontline domestic indices extended their gains during early trade on Friday. Key equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 450 points, led by strong gains in index majors ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, and HDFC amid mixed cues from Asian markets.
The 30-share index was trading 477 points (0.82 per cent) higher at 58,269 in opening trade. Similarly, the Nifty surged 148 points (0.86 per cent) to 17,352.
Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, M&M, Reliance Industries, and HDFC.
On the other hand, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, and Infosys were among the laggards.
IDFC Ltd was trading nearly 8 per cent higher on the BSE after IDFC First Bank approved a proposal to merge itself with the former and IDFC Financial Holding Company (promoter group).
Global stock markets reversed gains after a day-long rally on Thursday even as fresh US economic data indicated that a recent uptick of Omicron Covid-19 variant-related infections has not yet led to a surge in layoffs.
The benchmark indices had a positive start on Friday after four days of muted action and rallied up to 0.6 per cent.
The broader markets were also in the green. The BSE Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices were 0.7and 0.9 per cent higher, respectively.
In the previous session, the 30-share index closed lower by 12.17 points or 0.02 per cent at 57,794.32. And the NSE Nifty edged down by 9.65 points or 0.06 per cent to 17,203.95.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Seoul and Tokyo were in losses.
Stock exchanges in the US ended with losses in the overnight session.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.80 per cent to $78.89 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 986.32 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.