Sensex closes 254 points higher, Nifty closes above 11,760

New Delhi: Markets closed in the green on Friday led by rally in banking, metal and IT stocks.

The BSE Sensex closed 254.57 points or 0.64 per cent higher at 39,982.98. Similarly, the NSE Nifty settled 82.10 points or 0.70 per cent up at 11,762.45.

Of the 30 Sensex constituents, 24 ended with gains. Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Powergrid, Ultrachem, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC, NTPC, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, SBI and Tech Mahindra, rising upto 5.38 percent.

Major losers in the Sensex pack were HCL, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, Nestle India and Sun Pharma were the major losers, tumbling 3.76 percent.

On a weekly basis, the Sensex lost 526.51 points or 1.29 per cent, while the Nifty declined 151.75 points or 1.27 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE metal surged the most, gaining 3.7 per cent, followed by realty at 2.60 per cent and banking at 1.95 per cent. Other major gainers were BSE utilities, power, finance and healthcare, rising as much as 1.61 per cent.

Of the 19 sectoral indices, 18 closed in the green. The BSE energy index slipped 0.82 per cent. In the broader market, the BSE midcap, smallcap and largecap indices outperformed the benchmark.