Sensex Jumps 497 Points; Nifty Ends Above 21,600

Indian shares rose notably on Friday, mirroring firm cues from global markets.

Markets remain attached to the prospect of a March U.S. rate cut despite cautious comments from several Federal Reserve officials in recent sessions.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said on Thursday he expects policymakers to start cutting rates in the third quarter of this year and the goal ahead is to calibrate policy to be not so restrictive.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex soared 496.37 points, or 0.70 percent, to 71,683.23 after three consecutive sessions of losses.

The broader NSE Nifty index also snapped a three-day losing streak, rising 160.15 points, or 0.75 percent, to 21,622.40.

ONGC topped the gainers list to close 3.6 percent higher at Rs. 241.85 while SBI Life, Tech Mahindra, NTPC and Bharti Airtel all rose about 3 percent.

UltraTech Cement rose over 2 percent after Q3 net profit surged 68 percent.

Banks ended on a sluggish note as investors awaited earnings from the likes of ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank for direction.

IndusInd Bank lost 3.3 percent, while Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank both fell around 1 percent.

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