Mumbai, Apr 10 (PTI) Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged over 1 per cent on Friday, propelled by buying in banking counters and a positive trend in global equities.

Investor sentiment improved amid hopes of further easing in the West Asia crisis ahead of US-Iran negotiations and lower crude prices, analysts said.

After staying in the positive territory throughout the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex later jumped 918.60 points or 1.20 per cent to settle at 77,550.25. During the day, it surged 990.85 points or 1.29 per cent to 77,622.50.

A total of 3,360 stocks advanced while 945 declined and 144 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 275.50 points or 1.16 per cent to end at 24,050.60.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 4,230.7 points or 5.77 per cent, and the Nifty surged 1,337.5 points or 5.88 per cent.

"The positive momentum was primarily driven by improving global sentiment amid hopes of further easing in Middle East tensions ahead of scheduled negotiations between the US and Iran. This led to cooling crude oil prices and supported risk appetite for emerging markets like India," Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Additionally, sustained buying interest from domestic institutional investors and selective short covering aided the upmove, Mishra added.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank and State Bank of India were the major gainers.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were the laggards.

The BSE Small Cap Select index jumped 1.64 per cent, and the MidCap Select index climbed 1.50 per cent.

Auto jumped 2.75 per cent, Capital Goods (2.27 per cent), Consumer Durables (2.20 per cent), Industrials (2.19 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (2.18 per cent), Bankex (2.06 per cent), and Realty (2.02 per cent).

In contrast, BSE IT and Focused IT were the laggards.

The positive trend was led by buying in banking, auto and financial stocks, while IT counters saw some profit booking after TCS' financial results.

"A sharp upsurge in global equity markets had a positive spill-over effect on domestic equity benchmarks, with a sharp rally in banking, auto and realty stocks fuelling optimism throughout the trading session," Ankur Punj, MD & Business Head at Equirus Wealth, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended higher.

European markets were trading in positive territory.

US markets ended higher on Thursday.

"Indian equity markets closed the week's final session on a positive note, with the Nifty experiencing a range-bound session with a bullish bias, gaining over 1 per cent as investors carefully priced in expectations of progress from the upcoming US-Iran negotiations, even as the ceasefire continued to remain uncertain.

"However, markets maintained a firm undertone," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

Global markets shared a similarly constructive sentiment, with the US, European, and Asian indices all in the green zone, with Asian markets leading the gains, he added.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.57 per cent to USD 96.47 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,711.19 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 955.90 crore.

On Thursday, the Sensex dropped 931.25 points, or 1.20 per cent, to settle at 76,631.65. The Nifty declined 222.25 points or 0.93 per cent to end at 23,775.10. PTI SUM SUM BAL BAL