Sensex rallies 454 pts, Nifty ends above 23,300 on gains in banking shares, firm global trends

Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, State Bank of India, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Asian Paints were the other gainers.

However, Zomato fell the most by 3.14 per cent after food delivery platform reported weaker-than-expected financial results for the December quarter. Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti and Tata Motors were also among the laggards.

"A strong positive sentiment from Asian markets bolstered domestic markets, starting the week on a healthy note. Further, a robust initial set of earnings from the banking and financial sectors triggered a broad-based rally, driven by the likelihood of improved earnings in the near future.

"However, uncertainties surrounding Trump's policies continue to linger, with investors eagerly waiting for more clarity," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 0.82 per cent and midcap index climbed 0.66 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, telecommunication surged the most by 2.18 per cent, followed by bankex (2.03 per cent), power (1.39 per cent), financial services (1.24 per cent), utilities (1.17 per cent) and capital goods (0.96 per cent).

BSE consumer discretionary, auto and FMCG were the laggards.

As many as 2,503 stocks advanced while 1,557 declined and 168 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Global markets also advanced of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump announced that he had a ‘very good’ telephone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that the outcome was positive. Analysts said that it indicates that initially Trump would go slow on tariffs and would prefer to negotiate.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Seoul ended lower. Markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended in the green on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.36 per cent to USD 80.50 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,318.06 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.