Indian shares ended at two-week high on Friday amid optimism that the Union government may exempt the tax surcharge on foreign portfolio investors and address slowdown concerns. Both frontline indices posted the first weekly gain after five weeks with both the Sensex and Nifty rising over a percent.

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After rallying 480 points during the day, the 30-share Sensex settled 254.55 points or 0.68 percent higher at 37,581.91. It hit an intra-day high of 37,807.55 and a low of 37,406.26.

The broader NSE Nifty jumped 77.20 points or 0.70 percent to 11,109.65. During the day, it hit a high of 11,181.45 and a low of 11,062.80.

The Nifty MidCap index outshined frontline indexes, rising almost a percent higher. The MidCap index was up 1.6 percent for the week.

Among sectoral indexes, auto posted the biggest gains, rising 2 percent, while finance also surged over 1.5 percent. Metal and pharma gauges declined.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Vedanta, HDFC twins, HUL, Kotak Bank and ICICI bank, which surged up to 3.36 percent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank was the biggest laggard, cracking 7.91 percent. Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, ITC and Sun Pharma too fell up to 2.50 per cent.

Indiabulls Housing Finance surged almost 14 percent, posting its biggest ever single-day gains.

Tyre-manufacturer MRF surged 4 percent as its first quarter earnings came in higher than expectations.

-with inputs from agencies