HDFC Bank, ICICI lift Sensex 167 pts, Nifty above 8800; IT dives

Equity benchmarks closed off day’s high but the Nifty managed to hold the 8800-mark on Friday, backed by private banking & financials and pharma stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 425 points in opening, led by 10 percent rally in HDFC Bank after RBI lifted its ban on FIIs investment; but failed to hold entire gains as the day progressed. The index ended at 28468.75, up 167.48 points.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rose 43.70 points to 8821.70 after hitting a day’s high of 8896.45 in opening trade.