Sun Pharma was by far the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 8.13 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's at 4.92 per cent.
The NSE Nifty, which dipped below the key 10,800-mark to touch a low of 10,755.40, bounced back on late buying to close at 10,817.70, up 9.65 points, or 0.09 per cent.
Stock markets squandered early gains but managed to end in the green on Friday, propped up by heavyweight Reliance Industries which announced another stake sale deal for its digital platform. A strengthening rupee and firm global cues also supported the domestic bourses, traders said.
Neither pharma nor IT would have become the stars of the economy without the active but largely invisible hand of the Indian State, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
Patent filings in India would be more and more driven by new technologies, which are either kept secret or patented.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your stock market queries.
'We are going to be overwhelmed by the need for hospital beds. There are simply not enough beds in government hospitals.' 'We will need a large number of medical professionals and without the private sector's involvement, the government won't be able to expand capacity.'
India procured around 5 lakh rapid antibody test kits from the two Chinese firms, Guongzhou Wondfo Biotech and Livzon Diagnostics, and they were distributed to several states reporting rising cases of the coronavirus infection.
Strong gains in metal, energy, auto and power shares lifted the key indices to new highs.
At the BSE, 1,964 stocks declined and 871 advanced while 99 remained unchanged.
The company has been developing donor-derived stem cell platforms.
Shares of RIL ended 2.4% higher as it pips TCS to become most valued firm
Oil & gas, banking and pharma sector stocks stole the show
An expectation of tax sops in Budget, weakness of dollar and robust tax collection are adding positive sentiment
Admitting that a vaccine or drug-based treatment is the only feasible long-term solution, he said the UK has accelerated this with promising vaccine development programmes and a collaboration between Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca was a vital step that could help rapidly advance the manufacture of a Covid-19 vaccine when it is ready.
CBD oil, found in marijuana, is gaining popularity for its pain-relieving properties. It's now legally available in India
The broader NSE Nifty scaled a high of 10,856.55 before closing up by 55.90 points, or 0.52 per cent
'Whoever owns the best chip industry will be the Saudi Arabia of the era of data,' predicts Rajeev Srinivasan.
S&P BSE Sensex settled at 31,170, up 60 points, while the broader Nifty50 closed at record high for third straight session. It ended at 9,624, up 19 points.
Broader market underperformed the headline indices
The BSE Sensex spurted 130.00 points to end at 35,980.93, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 30.35 points to 10,802.15.
Risk sentiment received a boost after eight core sectors grew to a five-month high of 4.9 per cent in August
'James Crabtree ignores the emergence of a nexus between business and politics going back to the 1920s and talks of it as a new child of 21st century India,' says Shivanand Kanavi.
The 30-share Sensex ended 50 points lower at 28,112 and the 50-share Nifty declined 12 points to close at 8,531.
Investors booked profits in range-bound trade, led by PSU, oil & gas, energy, infrastructure, telecom, realty, healthcare, bankex, FMCG, capital goods and power counters.
A declining rupee, elevated crude oil prices and sustained foreign fund outflows added to the gloom
Notable losers were ONGC, Axis Bank, ITC, SBI, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Hero Motocorp, Sun Pharma and Bharti Airtel who fell by up to 2.80 per cent.
The BSE Sensex jumped 70.42 points to end at 34,503.49, while the broader NSE Nifty finished at 10,651.20, up 19 points.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also closed higher by 61.60 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 10,504.80 after shuttling between 10,513 and 10,441.45.
The 50-issue NSE Nifty in range-bound movements settled higher by 59.15 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 10,252.10.
ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 4.64 per cent, followed by Axis Bank at 3.86 per cent and SBI 2.53 per cent.
Nothing is going to dramatically open up on May 3. There will be too many ifs and buts and terms and conditions and guidelines in leading one's life in various zones, reveals Sheela Bhatt.
The laggards in the Sensex kitty were Vedanta, Tata Steel, M&M, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, L&T, Asian Paint and HDFC
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also thanked Brazilian President Michel Temer for "understanding India's aspiration" for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers' stock market queries. Ajit will offer his unbiased views on a weekly basis
Investors booked profits in recent gainers
The broader NSE index has fallen about 0.9% as investors wait for corporate results
The 30-share Sensex stayed in the green for the better part of the session and hit the day's high of 38,297.70 as buying pace gathered momentum towards the fag-end.
The fall came on the back of a massive selloff in NBFCs, led by DHFL which skidded over 50 per cent on fears of a liquidity crisis.
