Indian equity shares ended higher, hitting record highs for the fourth straight day, led by blue-chip stocks, tracking a global rally after the European Central Bank launched a landmark bond-buying stimulus programme that buoyed investors' risk appetite.

The benchmark BSE index ended higher by 272.82 points or 0.94 per cent at 29,278.84 after marking a record high of 29,408.73. The index gained 4.1 per cent for the week.

The broader NSE index closed up 74.2 points or 0.85 per cent at 8,835.60 after hitting an all-time high of 8,866.40 earlier in the session. It closed 3.8 per cent for the week.

Both the indexes have gained for the seventh consecutive session.

Barring consumer durables and PSU, all other BSE sectoral indices ended in the green. Among them, infrastructure and auto indices gained 1.51 per cent each, followed by realty 1.48 per cent and capital goods 1.32 per cent, while consumer durables index was down 0.25 per cent and PSU 0.03 per cent.

Major Sensex gainers were Tata Power 6.86%, Tata Motors 3.81%, Bharti Airtel 3.72%, Cipla 3.15% and L&T 2.58%, while the top five losers were GAIL 1.8%, BHEL 1.67%, ONGC 1.09%, Dr Reddy's 0.49% and TCS 0.44%.

Blue chips such as Larsen & Toubro advanced on hopes of additional foreign investments after the European Central Bank launched a landmark bond-buying stimulus programme.

The ECB said it would purchase sovereign debt from this March until the end of September 2016, despite opposition from Germany's Bundesbank and concerns in Berlin that it could allow spendthrift countries to slacken economic reforms.

Sentiment was also bolstered after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said on Thursday that India will not stray from a plan to slash its fiscal deficit to 3 per cent of gross domestic product within two years.

"The undercurrent is firm. Even though valuations are higher, we could see buyers at every level. We are cautiously optimistic on the market and expect Nifty to touch the 9,000-mark in the near-term," said Suresh Parmar, head, institutional equities at KJMC Capital Markets.

Brokers said that apart from robust rally in global markets following the ECB’s stimulus measures to kick-start the euro zone economy, positive investor sentiments in view of pre-budget optimism helped the Indian equities attract fund inflows.

Overseas investors have bought Indian shares worth $966.27 million so far this year, exchange and regulatory data showed. Foreign investors bought shares worth $16.12 billion in 2014.

Global markets

European shares rose in early trade on Friday, gaining ground for the seventh consecutive session, as investors cheered the European Central Bank’s decision to buy government bonds.

At 0806 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.8 per cent at 1,464.69 points, a seven-year high.

Asian stocks extended a global rally on Friday after the European Central Bank launched a landmark bond-buying stimulus programme that buoyed investors’ risk appetite, drove bonds higher and left the euro pinned near 11-year lows.

Lifted by the global surge in equities, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose to an eight-week high and was last up 0.8 per cent.

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