Markets extend gains in see-saw trade; metal, banking stocks sparkle

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty overcame bouts of volatility to settle in the green for the second straight session on Friday, propped up by robust demand for the metal, banking and financial stocks amid a firm trend in global equities.

Besides, a strengthening rupee and lower crude prices in the international markets also influenced sentiments here, traders said.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 355 points to settle at 57,989 During the day, it hit a high of 58,178 and a low of 57,503

The broader NSE Nifty gained 114 points to end at 17,100

HCL Tech led the Sensex gainers' chart, spurting 3%, followed by UltraCement, Nestle India, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and HDFC twins.

In contrast, ITC, Maruti, NTPC, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma were among the main laggards, shedding up to 1.5%

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.29% and smallcap index advanced 0.69%

Markets were volatile and moved with a positive bias as investors resorted to select buying. European indices and other Asian peers accumulated significant gains, which enthused local traders in a big way.