"equity-benchmarks"

Indian equity benchmarks rose sharply on Friday, with Sensex gaining over 900 points and Nifty crossing 24,000, as investors tracked global cues and West Asia tensions, while strong participation in broader markets supported the overall upward momentum

Nifty midcap 100 index was up 147 points or 0.24 per cent at 60,860 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 37 points or 0.19 per cent at 19,586

After opening on a flat note, the 30-share BSE index was trading 59.24 points or 0.11 per cent higher at 52,291.67 in initial deals, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 16.85 points or 0.11 per cent to 15,707.20.

Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by UltraTech Cement, ONGC, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech and Nestle India

SBI, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, ONGC and Axis Bank were top gainers in the Sensex pack.

In the previous session, Sensex surged 376.60 points or 0.94 per cent to finish at 40,522.10, while Nifty climbed 121.65 points or 1.03 per cent to 11,889.40.