Sensex, Nifty End Modestly Higher On Firm Global Cues

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly higher on Friday, tracking firm cues from global markets amid renewed optimism around artificial intelligence and hopes for more Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.

Falling oil prices also offered some support but volatility due to sustained FII selling capped overall gains.

The benchmark BSE Sensex added 223.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to 81,207.17, extending sharp gains from the previous session after the RBI held the repo rate unchanged at 5.5 percent, lowered its inflation forecast and raised growth projections.

The broader NSE Nifty index rose 57.95 points, or 0.23 percent, to 24,894.25 as traders returned from a holiday for Dussehra and Gandhi Jayanti.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes jumped 0.8 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was strong on the BSE, with 2,717 shares rising while 1,479 shares declined and 143 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent gainers, Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Power Grid Corp and Tata Steel rallied 2-3 percent.

On the losing side, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki India and Tech Mahindra all fell around 1 percent.