Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank triggered fresh buying today as the benchmark Sensex rallied by 419 points to end at 14,764.64 on the back of firm global cues. Reliance Industries shot up 3.53 per cent as the company agreed to sell natural gas to some of state-run NTPC’s power plants and said it was keen on signing a gas sales agreement at the earliest. India’s largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank, ended higher by 7.96 per cent after its American depository receipts (ADRs) jumped 4.75 per cent on Thursday.

Fresh buying in index pivotals propelled key benchmark indices to an intra-day high in mid-afternoon trade. Firm global markets also boosted sentiment on the domestic bourses today. The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index ended the day at 14,764.64, a smart gain of 419.02 points or 2.92 per cent from its previous close. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange’s 50-share Nifty also jumped by 133.65 points or 3.15 per cent to close at 4,375.50 from its last close. Bonanza Portfolio assistant vice-president Avinash Gupta said, “The market is expected to trade with caution in view of the Budget ahead.”

Asian markets ended higher as commodity prices jumped amid optimism that the US recession may ease after the economy shrank less than expected in the first quarter. Key indices in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Japan were up between 0.09 per cent and 1.78 per cent. European markets also opened higher as rise in crude oil and metal prices boosted commodity stocks indices in the UK, Germany and France, which moved up between 0.26 and 0.83 per cent.

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