Indian equity markets witnessed a surge in the final minutes of trade to register yet another record high and end the truncated week with healthy gains.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended 1% higher at 45,079 while the NSE Nifty 50 too gained 1% to end at 13,258.
Today's closing means both Sensex and Nifty have closed higher for the fifth straight week, their longest run of weekly gains since July this year.
Today's session belonged to banking stocks. The Nifty Bank gained 300 points in the final hour of trade. The index crossed the mark of 30,000 to end 600 points higher at 30,052. The index is now 130 points away from its February high of 30,187.
The PSU Bank index, which was a laggard for most part of the trading day, ended with gains of 1.5%.
Other sectoral indices which did well in today's session were the Nifty FMCG index, which gained 1.4%, along with Nifty Metal, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Realty, which saw gains of over 1% each.
Broader markets were subdued in today's session. Both Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap underperformed the benchmarks, ending with gains of 0.3% each.
The India Volatility Index fell to its lowest since February this year, ending 5.3% lower at 17.98.
1,085 stocks on the NSE ended with gains while 811 reported losses.

India has expertise and capacity in vaccine distribution, says Prime Minister Modi at #AllPartyMeet.
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RBI Governor Says:
Cement maker UltraTech Cement announced that it will increase its capacity by 12.8 MTPA with an investment of Rs 5,477 crore on Thursday.
The additional capacity will be created in east, central and north India.
Here's what brokerages are making of this decision:
Shares of UltraTech gained as much as 4.7% to Rs 5,124. The stock is trading at a record high. Out of the 45 analysts that track the stock, 41 have a 'buy' recommendation, three say 'hold' while one has a 'sell' rating. Based on the 12-month consensus Bloomberg data, the stock has a return potential of 6.4%.
Axis Bank CEO Amitabh Chaudhry tells Bloomberg TV that he expects the bank to grow at a faster rate than the industry.
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Indian equity markets opened higher during the final trading day of this truncated week. Benchmark indices are poised to post their fifth straight weekly advance.
The S&P BSE Sensex opened 50 points higher at 44,665 while the NSE Nifty 50 index gained 0.5% at the start of trade to open at 13,177. As of closing on Thursday, both Sensex and Nifty were up over 1% for the week.
Among sectoral indices, the PSU Bank index continued its advance from Thursday's session, opening with gains of 0.8%.
The Nifty Media index opened with gains of 1% while Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto and Nifty FMCG index gained 0.4% each.
Broader markets have opened in tandem with the benchmarks. The Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices have gained 0.5% each at the start of trade.
1,242 stocks on the NSE have opened with gains while 314 are declining.
Good Morning!
Indian equity markets are poised to post their fifth straight weekly gain—their longest such winning streak since July this year.
So fat this week, the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 have gained more than 1%.
Futures are again pointing towards gains at the start of the final trading day of the truncated week. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.3% to 13,242 as of 7:55 a.m. on Friday.
Many sectoral indices are trading at multi-month or multi-year highs. The mid-cap index is at its highest since April 2018, while the Nifty Auto index is at the highest since December 2018. The small cap and the Nifty Metal indices are at their highest since April 2019.
Asian markets are mixed this morning as the rally in global equities consolidates near a record high. Benchmark indices in Japan and China are declining, while those in South Korea are retreating.
Futures on the Dow Jones are trading with gains of 40 points, off the session's high. The index gained 0.3% on Thursday.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $45.88 per barrel, while gold traded at $1,838.8/Oz.
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