The key Indian equity indices on Friday extended gains for the second consecutive session to close on a higher note as positive global cues and a surge in FMCG, healthcare, metal and auto stocks gave a boost to investors' sentiments.According to market observers, the upward rally of the equity markets was fuelled by positive hopes of the ruling BJP's win in the critical Gujarat Assembly Elections 2017 which will take place in two phases on December 9 and December 14.The wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose by 98.95 points or 0.97 per cent to close at 10,265.65 points.The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE reclaimed the psychologically important 33,000-mark and closed around 300 points higher.On a closing basis, the BSE Sensex surged by 301.09 points or 0.91 per cent to 33,034.20 points.The BSE market breadth was bullish -- 1,584 advances and 1,116 declines."Markets rallied higher on Friday after the sharp bounce back seen on Thursday. The upmove was driven by hopes that the ruling BJP would win critical state elections in Gujarat beginning this weekend," Deepak Jasani, Head, Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS."Positive global cues also boosted sentiments. Sectorally, the top gainers were the FMCG, pharma, metal and auto indices," he added.
In the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index closed higher by 0.89 per cent and the small-cap index by 1 per cent.On the currency front, the rupee strengthened by 12 paise to close at 64.45 against the US dollar from its previous close at 64.57.Provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 675.16 crore while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 1,243 crore.Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: "Investor's sentiment has lifted amid favorable political cue for the ruling party in Gujarat ahead of state election. Positive global market ahead of US employment data also added fuel to the domestic market rally."Investors hurried to accumulate beaten down stocks as sectors like FMCG, pharma, metal indices gained attention and outperformed."All the 19 sub-indices of the BSE ended in the positive territory, led by the S&P BSE FMCG index, which augmented by 2.23 per cent, followed by metals index by 1.36 per cent and auto index by 1.35 per cent.Major Sensex gainers on Friday were: ITC, up 3.44 per cent at Rs 261.70; Tata Motors, up 2.21 per cent at Rs 411.05.50; Sun Pharma, up 2.21 per cent at Rs 521.50; Tata Motors (DVR), up 2.05 per cent at Rs 233.75; and Hindustan Unilever, up 1.97 per cent at Rs 1,317.55.Major Sensex losers were: Hero MotoCorp, down 1.19 per cent at Rs 3,513.05; State Bank of India, down 1.09 per cent at Rs 313.15; Reliance Industries, down 1.04 per cent at Rs 920.95; Tata Consultancy Services, down 0.64 per cent at Rs 2,601; and Asian Paints, down 0.56 per cent at Rs 1,137.