Indian shares ended higher on Friday, led by lenders such as ICICI Bank after rating agency Moody's upgraded nation's sovereign rating for the first time since 2004.
Moody's Investors Services upgraded India's ratings to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive citing a slew of structural reforms in the economy, which are expected to enhance the potential growth in the medium term.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.71 percent at 33,342 while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 0.67 percent to 10,283. Sensex jumped as much as 1.3 percent earlier in the session.
Among the top Sensex gainers, ICICI Bank added 1.6 percent, Tata Motors advanced 1.8 percent, Cipla gained 2.3 percent while HDFC rose 2 percent.
The S&P BSE Bankex index added 1.2 percent and was among the top sectoral gainers. Lenders such as Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India gained between 1 to 2 percent.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance made a strong debut on the exchanges. The stock opened at Rs 311 on the BSE, up 7.24 percent against the issue price of Rs290.
IT stocks fell as rupee strengthened. The BSE IT index lost 1.4 percent, dragged down by Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Wipro.
Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.
Equities in Asia advanced as strong U.S. earnings and a step forward in the U.S. Congress on tax reform boosted global risk appetite.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 percent on Friday after the S&P 500 advanced 0.82 percent overnight.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a broad package of tax cuts sought by President Donald Trump, passing its first, if smallest, hurdle and providing a catalyst for fresh buying in risk assets.
