India's benchmark stock indices ended higher for the second day on Friday, led by gains in realty and pharma stocks.
On a weekly basis, the headline indices snapped two weeks of loss.
Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee kept the policy rates unchanged. Sensex nearly touched the 66,000 mark, whereas Nifty ended beyond the 19,600.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 364 points, or 0.55%, higher at 65,995.63, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 108 points, or 0.55%, to end at 19,653.50.
European stocks rose as traders prepared for a U.S. payroll report. Miners were among the best performers in Europe's Stoxx 600 after news that a Chinese iron-ore buying agency was in talks with global suppliers.
U.S. equity futures ticked higher after the S&P 500 fell 0.1% on Thursday and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.4%.
Japanese equities reversed gains, while equity benchmarks in Australia, South Korea, and Hong Kong all climbed. Mainland China markets remain shut for a weeklong holiday.
Bajaj Finance Ltd., Bajaj Finserv Ltd., Infosys Ltd., ITC Ltd., and Titan Co. were positively adding to the change in the Nifty.
Whereas, Axis Bank Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and HDFC Bank Ltd. were negatively contributing to the change.
The indices snapped two weeks of loss on Friday. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.25% and NSE Nifty 50 was higher by 0.08%, this week.
Last week, the headline indices declined for the second week in a row as the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.27% and NSE Nifty 50 was lower by 0.18%.
Nifty Realty and IT rose this week while, Nifty Energy fell the most.
The broader market indices outperformed the larger peers; the S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.66%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was also 0.56% higher.
Nineteen out of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE advanced, while S&P BSE Telecommunication declined. S&P BSE Realty and S&P BSE Consumer Durables gained the most.
The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. About 2,315 stocks rose, 1,322 declined, while 164 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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