Sensex, Nifty Gain For Second Straight Session Led By Banking Shares

The equity benchmarks gained for second straight session on Friday, led by strength in banking and financial services shares. The benchmarks traded in a narrow band in the first half of trade and jumped in noon deals on the back of gains in ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys, State Bank of India and Tata Steel. The Sensex rose as much as 274 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 15,870.80.