Markets extend rally to 3rd day, Sensex climbs over 300 points

New Delhi: Benchmark indices gained for the third day running on Friday, with the Sensex climbing over 300 points amid mixed global market trends. The 30-share BSE benchmark advanced 303.38 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 54,481.84. During the day, it jumped 448.68 points or 0.82 per cent to 54,627.14. The broader NSE Nifty went higher by 87.70 points or 0.54 per cent to end at 16,220.60.

From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Lab, Nestle, Bharti Airtel, Infosys and Hindustan Unilever were the major gainers.

Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki India, IndusInd Bank, TCS and Asian Paints were among the laggards. 

In Asia, markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul ended higher, while Shanghai settled marginally lower.

Equity markets in Europe were trading lower in mid-session deals. The US markets had ended higher on Thursday.

"The present rally is driven partly by expectations that given the steady decline in commodity prices, inflation will start showing a declining trend enabling central banks to go a bit slow on hiking rates, and partly by short covering," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.12 per cent to USD 104.5 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers on Thursday, offloading shares worth Rs 925.22 crore, as per exchange data.