The Indian equity benchmark indices opened higher on Friday on positive global cues amid encouraging global economic data. Gains in IT, banks and metal stocks lifted the benchmarks.

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At 9:15 am, the Sensex opened 0.27 percent, or 132.06 points higher at 48,935.74, while the Nifty50 index opened at 14,599.60, up 18.15 points, or 0.12 percent.

Smallcap and midcap indices also traded over half a percent higher each.

Barring pharma and realty indices, all the other sectors were trading in the green led by Nifty IT, Nifty Metal, Nifty Auto and Nifty PSU Bank.

Wipro, Asian Paints, Eicher Motors, PowerGrid Corporation and HDFC were the top Nifty50 gainers, while Sun Pharmaceuticals, ONGC, Reliance Industries, UPL and Adani Ports & SEZ were the top index losers.

Shares of Wipro rallied over 4 percent after the company’s consolidated profit in Q4FY21 grew 0.1 percent to Rs 2,972.3 crore from Rs 2,966.7 crore, while IT services business revenue rose 3.9 percent to Rs 16,334 crore, QoQ.

Globally, a batch of Chinese and US economic data helped underpin global stocks near record highs on Friday, as investors priced in a solid global recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump, a Reuters report said.

Shanghai shares dipped 0.2 percent while the Chinese yuan eased. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off 0.2 percent while Japan's Nikkei was almost flat.

MSCI’s broadest gauge of world stocks ticked down 0.05 percent by mid-Asian trade following 0.89 percent gains the previous day to a record high.

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