Equity indices close 1 pc higher, Infosys top gainer

Equity benchmark indices closed nearly one per cent higher on Friday led by gains in IT stocks.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed 329 points or 0.94 per cent at 35,171 while the Nifty 50 was up by 94 points or 0.91 per cent at 10,383.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty IT up by 4 per cent but FMCG dipped by 1.1 per cent.

Among stocks, IT major Infosys gained by 6.6 per cent at Rs 747 per share. Tata Consultancy Services edged higher by 4.9 per cent and Wipro was up by 3.2 per cent.

IndusInd Bank added gains of 3.7 per cent while HDFC Bank moved up by 2.8 per cent. Bharat Petroleum Corporation, IndianOil Corporation, ONGC and Hindalco too traded with a positive bias.

However, the prominent losers were Bajaj Finance, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Motors.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets were marginally higher as surging coronavirus infections checked hopes for a swift global recovery.

Japan's Nikkei rose by 1.13 per cent and South Korea's Kospi by 1.05 per cent. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.93 per cent. Markets in China and Taiwan remained closed.

( With inputs from ANI )