Delhi, 17 October (H.S.): Indian equity benchmarks closed in the green for the third straight session on Friday, ending the trading week on a strong note. Buoyed by robust buying in key banking and petroleum stocks, alongside sustained inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), the market maintained its upward momentum.The BSE Sensex, a 30-share index, concluded the day at 83,952.19, up 484.53 points or 0.58%.

After a volatile session, the index hit an intraday high of 84,172.24. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 rose by 124.55 points, or 0.49%, to close at 25,709.85.Top gainers among Sensex companies included Asian Paints, which led the pack with a significant jump of 4.18%. Other major contributors to the rally were Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, ICICI Bank, and Reliance Industries.

In contrast, shares of Infosys, HCL Tech, Eicher Motors, Tech Mahindra, and Tata Steel were among the top laggards.

The positive sentiment in the domestic market stood in contrast to mixed trends across Asia. While South Korea's KOSPI closed in positive territory, Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng all ended with losses. European markets were also trading lower during the day.

The market's strong close on Friday follows a powerful performance on Thursday, where the Sensex had rallied 862 points (1.04%) and the Nifty had climbed 262 points (1.03%).

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar