Mumbai, May 2: The Indian equity indices ended the final trading session of the week with gains on Friday after witnessing a bout of volatility.

The Sensex, after touching an intra-day high of 81,177.93, closed at 80,501.99, up by 259.75 points or 0.32 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Nifty rose 12.50 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 24,346.70, after moving between 24,238.50 and 24,589.15 during the session.

Among the top gainers on the Nifty were Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Maruti Suzuki India, and Tata Steel. On the other hand, major losers included JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Life, and Nestle.

Going forward, support is placed at 24,250 and a fall below this level might trigger a correction toward 24,000.

“Additionally, the index may remain range-bound within the 24,000–24,550 band. Only a decisive breakout above 24,550 may lead to a decent rally in the index," said Rupak De of LKP Securities.

Sector-wise performance was mixed. Media, energy, IT, and oil and gas stocks saw some gains, rising between 0.3 to 0.7 per cent.

However, sectors like power, metal, telecom, pharma, realty, and consumer durables declined between 0.5 to 2 per cent.

The BSE Midcap index fell by 0.4 per cent, while the Smallcap index closed flat, showing limited action in broader markets.

According to Sundar Kewat of Ashika Institutional Equity, early gains were driven by easing concerns over a potential trade war between the US and China.

He said China’s willingness to engage in talks gave confidence to global markets. In addition, continued foreign institutional investment supported the Indian market.

However, investors remained cautious due to rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, which limited further upside.

Kewat noted that the session saw high volatility, with significant price movements on both sides of the trade.

In the currency market, the Indian rupee ended slightly lower at 84.56 per dollar, compared to Wednesday’s close of 84.49. (IANS)

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