The Indian benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Friday led by gains in PSU banks and auto stocks. The Sensex ended 117.65 points or 0.25 percent higher at 47,868.98, while Nifty settled at an all-time high level of 14,018.50, up 36.75 points or 0.26 percent.

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Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks with Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 ending more than 1 percent higher each.

Among sectors, Nifty PSU Bank rallied the most over 3 percent followed by Nifty Auto, Nifty IT, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Realty. Private banks remained under pressure.

Among major Sensex gainers, ITC rose the most by 2.32 percent, followed by TCS, M&M and SBI.

TCS rose by 2.02 percent after the IT major said its board will meet on January 8 to approve financial results and a proposal for declaring the third interim dividend to shareholders. Among other IT stocks, Tech Mahindra rose 0.23 percent, Infosys by 0.36 percent and HCL Tech by 0.43 percent.

Dr Reddy’s, L&T, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Nestle and Ultratech Cement also advanced.

Auto stocks advanced on better sales numbers for December month. Market leader Maruti, which posted a 20 percent increase in vehicle sales in December, rose by 0.53 percent while Bajaj Auto closed up by 1.03 percent. Mahindra & Mahindra rose by 1.62 percent even as it posted a 10.3 percent decline in total sales at 35,187 units in December 2020. The company also announced its decision to scrap a previously announced automotive joint venture with Ford citing fundamental changes in global economic conditions.

Banking giant ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, however, dropped 1.36 percent and 0.83 percent respectively due to profit booking. Meanwhile, GST collections touched a record high of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore in December, reflecting festive demand and reflating the economy.

(With inputs from PTI)

First Published:Jan 1, 2021 3:35 PM IST