Indian shares ended higher on Friday and posted their fifth consecutive weekly gain on renewed hopes for March-quarter corporate results driven by Reliance Industries Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd. The benchmark BSE index closed up 0.74 percent at 34,969.70, ending the week 1.6 percent higher. The broader NSE index ended 0.70 percent higher at 10,692.30, up 1.2 percent for the week.
Reliance gained 2.2 percent ahead of results while Axis Bank surged over 9 percent after positive comments from the bank on Thursday. Reliance, which is expected to report a higher quarterly profit later in the day, rose as much as 3.7 percent to an all-time high and was the biggest driver of gains on the NSE index. Results from private sector lenders Axis Bank and Yes Bank also set the tone for the season, with investors upbeat about March-quarter numbers.
Yes Bank Ltd gained as much as 4.7 percent after its fourth-quarter profit beat estimates, while positive management guidance helped Axis Bank shares gain nearly 6 percent, although it reported its first ever quarterly loss.
Top lender State Bank of India, which rose 5 percent, was the biggest percentage gainer on both the indexes. The Nifty PSU bank index climbed over 5 percent, its biggest intraday percentage gain since April 5. It had lost 5.8 percent this month as of Thursday's close. IT stocks, however, lost ground, with the Nifty IT index down 1.5 percent.
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