The stock market ended higher on Friday, driven by gains. The domestic market witnessed low volatility in the absence of fresh triggers and traded on a positive note throughout the session.

The Sensex advanced by 226.59 points (0.29%) to close at 78,699.07, while the Nifty rose by 63.20 points (0.27%) to settle at 23,813.4.

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Nifty Auto Index led sectoral gains with a 1% rise. This was followed by Nifty Healthcare and Nifty Bank, which gained 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively.

The Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank indices each fell by 1%, while the Nifty Oil & Gas declined by 0.7%, and Nifty Realty and Consumer Durables shed 0.5% each. The Bank Nifty ended at 51,170.7, achieving an intraday high of 51,628.45 and a low of 51,240.1.

On the Nifty index, the top gainers were Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (2.53%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.48%), IndusInd Bank (2.30%), Eicher Motors (1.57%), and Bajaj Finance (1.35%).

On the losing side were Hindalco Industries (1.81%), State Bank of India (1.58%), Coal India (1.58%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (1.39%), and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (1.07%).

The BSE Midcap index underperformed, ending 0.08% lower, while the BSE Smallcap index climbed 0.28%, in line with the BSE benchmark.

The volatility index, India VIX, cooled by 5.68% to 13.24, indicating a drop in market volatility.

The rupee partially recovered from a fresh low of 85.81 against the greenback to settle at 85.53, extending the fall for the ninth day in a row.

Among the key individual performers, IndusInd Bank’s share price rose over 3% to become the top gainer on the Nifty after the bank decided to offload its non-performing microfinance loan pool.

Shares of Cochin Shipyard had hit a 5% upper circuit as Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) announced the procurement of eight state-of-the-art harbour tugs.

Shares of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders tumbled after it began trading ex-split, while shares of NMDC fell by 3% as it started trading on an ex-bonus basis.

RBL Bank shares fell after the bank announced it had divested its entire 8.16% stake in DAM Capital.

Among the other peers, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index posted its fifth consecutive gain, the longest streak since July.

Furthermore, Tokyo stocks surged as the yen weakened to a five-month low of 158 per dollar, spurred by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s comments, which provided no clear signal on upcoming interest rate decisions.