D-Street's thumbs up to Budget, markets close near record high

Benchmark equity indices bounced back sharply on Friday, with the Nifty hitting its lifetime peak in intra-day trade, tracking a rally in global markets along with buying in Reliance Industries, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 440.33 points or 0.61 per cent to settle at 72,085.63.

During the day, it jumped 1,444.1 points or 2 per cent to 73,089.40.

The Nifty went up by 156.35 points or 0.72 per cent to 21,853.80.

During the day, the benchmark soared 429.35 points or 1.97 per cent to reach its lifetime peak of 22,126.80.

Among the Sensex firms, Power Grid, NTPC, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, JSW Steel, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were the major gainers.

Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro and ITC were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled in the positive territory while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the red.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.48 per cent to $79.08 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,879.58 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.