Indian equity benchmarks rose to three-week closing highs on Friday, boosted by gains across most sectors, as the market entered the June futures & options series. Heavyweights Infosys, the HDFC twins and ICICI Bank were among the main contributors to the jump in both headline indices.

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Positive global cues aided the sentiment on Dalal Street, as investors drew comfort from Fed minutes showing a pause to rate hikes is on the cards later this year.

Both headline indices held on to much of their intraday gains at the end of the session.

During the session, the 30-scrip Sensex index jumped as much as 684.1 points or 1.3 percent to 54,936.6 and the broader Nifty50 benchmark climbed to as high as 16,370.6, up 200.5 points or 1.2 percent from its previous close.

Investors became wealthier by Rs 4.9 lakh crore in two days as the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies increased to Rs 253.1 lakh crore, according to provisional exchange data.

"Joining the global rally, investors were in a buying mood following favourable retail earnings in the US. Receding FII selling also provided comfort to the domestic market in bringing down volatility," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Apollo Hospitals, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Life, IndusInd Bank and Wipro were the top blue-chip gainers.

On the other hand, ONGC, NTPC, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel were the worst hit among the 15 laggards in the Nifty basket.

Private sector banking shares saw strong gains, aiding the Nifty Bank's rise of 1.5 percent. The banking index continued to rise for the fourth day in a row.

Oil & gas shares were under pressure after the UK announced a 25 percent windfall tax on profits of such businesses account of a surge in crude oil rates this year, triggering fears of similar steps in India.

GAIL reported a sequential fall of 18.4 percent in net profit to Rs 2,683 crore for the January-March period.

Broader markets strengthened, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices finishing 1.4 percent higher each.

Overall market breadth favoured the bulls with an advance-decline ratio of 5:2, as 1,487 stocks rose and 600 fell on NSE.

Global markets

European shares continued to rise for a third straight day, taking positive cues from Asia, as easing bets about aggressive rate hikes by central banks lifted sentiment. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.8 percent in early hours.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.3 percent, suggesting a higher opening ahead on Wall Street.

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