Closing bell: Sensex gains 118 points to close at 62,547; Nifty above 18,500

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Friday after two days of fall, helped by buying in metal, telecom and auto stocks amid a firm trend in global markets.

Automakers led by Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra reporting robust wholesales of passenger vehicles and GST collections crossing ₹1.50 lakh crore for the third straight month in May added to the optimism.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 118.57 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 62,547.11. During the day, it jumped 291.3 points or 0.46 per cent to 62,719.84.

The NSE Nifty advanced 46.35 points or 0.25 per cent to finish at 18,534.10.

Tata Steel was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising nearly 2 per cent, followed by Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Larsen & Toubro, Titan, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, ITC, State Bank of India and Nestle.

In contrast, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green.

Equity markets in Europe were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended higher on Thursday.

GST collections recorded a 12 per cent rise in May at over ₹1.57 lakh crore, according to official data released on Thursday.

Manufacturing activities in India advanced further and touched a 31-month high in May, supported by a stronger increase in new orders and favourable market conditions, which in turn generated more employment opportunities, a monthly survey said on Thursday.

Automakers led by Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Thursday reported robust wholesales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market for May riding on strong demand for SUVs.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.74 per cent to USD 75.57 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹71.07 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

The rupee appreciated by 9 paise to 82.31 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday.

Falling for the second day in a row, the Sensex declined 193.70 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 62,428.54 on Thursday. The Nifty fell 46.65 points or 0.25 per cent to finish at 18,487.75.