CLOSING BELL
Stock market highlights: Benchmark indices moved sharply higher in the fag-end of the session, closing in the positive zone for the first time this week. The S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 345 points, or 0.65 per cent, to end at 53,761. The Nifty50, on the other hand, closed at 16,049, up 111 points or 0.7 per cent.
Tata Consumer Products, Titan, Eicher Motors, HUL, Tata Motors, Maruti, M&M, Nestle India, HDFC, L&T, and BPCL topped the charts, rising over 2 per cent each. Metal and IT stocks, including Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Wipro, and JSW Steel continued to lag, down up to 2.6 per cent.
In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index added 0.85 per cent, driven by IDBI Bank, TVS Motors, BEL, Cummins India, and Cholamandalam Finance. The BSE SmallCap index, too, gained 0.5 per cent.
Sectorally, the Nifty Auto index was the biggest gainer, up 2 per cent. The Nifty Metal, on the contrary, eased 0.8 per cent.
Global check
European stocks were higher on Friday morning, paring some of this week's losses after weaker-than-expected data from China fueled fears of a global economic downturn. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 1 per cent during morning deals, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
On Wall Street, US stock futures rose around 0.2 per cent each, following a disappointing start to the second-quarter earnings season on Thursday.
Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.54 per cent, South Korea's Kospi 0.4 per cent, but China's CSI300 slipped around 2 per cent.
 "Sensex snaps 4-day losing run, up 345 pts; Nifty tops 16K; Auto, FMCG lead")
