Further, the benchmark Nifty, ended above 7,900 for the first time after hitting a fresh record high of 7,929.05 for the fourth time this week.
The BSE Sensex gained 0.23% or 59.44 points at 26, 419.55 while the CNX Nifty ended 0.28% or 22.10 points higher at record closing high of 7,913.20.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 413 crore, as per provisional stock exchange data. Further, they were also huge buyers in the debt segment with purchases to the tune of Rs 16,072 crore ($2.65 billion) on Wednesday, as per Sebi data.
Home resales in the US surged to a 10-month high in July, factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region hit its highest level since March 2011 in August, and an indicator of future economic activity grew robust last month.
Further, the US Labour Department on Thursday said that initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended August 16, declined by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000.
The Bank Nifty also ended at a fresh record closing high of 15,819.15 after hitting a record high of 15,865.30 in intra-day trades.
Meanwhile, the broader markets ended mixed as the BSE Midcap 0.22% higher while the Small-cap index ended flat.
Rupee
The rupee strengthened on Friday to a 3-week high against the dollar after Bloomberg quoted an analyst at Standard & Poor's calling the government's target to lower the fiscal deficit a positive for the country's ratings.
The partially convertible rupee rose to as high as 60.3750 per dollar, its strongest level since July 31, but had eased to 60.55 by 16.00 PM. It closed at 60.61/62 on Thursday.
Global Markets
Japan's Nikkei stock average erased earlier gains and shed 0.3%, breaking its nine-session winning streak but still marking a robust 1.4% weekly gain. Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai gained nearly 0.5%.
Meanwhile, Britain's FTSE, Germany's and France's CAC has shed between 0.5-1.5%.
Sectors & Stocks
The BSE IT index gained over 1.5% while the banking index or the BSE Bankex gained 1%. BSE
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