Equity benchmark indices closed the special trading session on a firm note on Saturday, extending their rally to the third day running amid fresh foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 88.91 points or 0.12 per cent to end at 74,005.94. During the session, it jumped 245.73 points or 0.33 per cent to 74,162.76.

The NSE Nifty advanced 35.90 points or 0.16 per cent to 22,502.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE on May 7 said they will conduct a special trading session in the equity and equity derivative segments on May 18 to check their preparedness for handling major disruptions or failures at the primary site.

The special live trading session will have an intra-day switchover from the Primary Site (PR) to the Disaster Recovery (DR) site.

In separate circulars, the two exchanges said there will be two sessions -- the first from 9:15 am to 10 am from the PR, and the second from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm from the DR site.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies reached an all-time peak of Rs 4,12,36,791.05 crore in the special trading session.

Among the Sensex components, Nestle, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever and State Bank of India were the major gainers.

JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.

Wall Street ended mostly higher on Friday.

"The Dow Jones Industrial Average has hit 40,000 for the first time, buoyed by optimism from a softer-than-expected April inflation report, which has increased bets on a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

"This positive sentiment extends to Indian markets, with the Nifty likely trading between 22,000-22,500, facing resistance at 22,500 and support at 22,000," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Friday after days of unabated outflows. They bought equities worth Rs 1,616.79 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

"Dow Jones closing in record territory above 40,000 will continue to provide global support for equity markets. A significant trend now is the FIIs turning buyers yesterday, and this takes away the pressure on the markets," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE benchmark climbed 253.31 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 73,917.03 on Friday. The NSE Nifty rose 62.25 points or 0.28 per cent to 22,466.10.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.77 per cent and the midcap index advanced 0.48 per cent.

All the indices ended in the green, with industrials, healthcare, telecommunication, capital goods and realty emerging as the major gainers. On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark climbed 1,341.47 points or 1.84 per cent, and the Nifty went up by 446.8 points or 2 per cent. Earlier on March 2 (Saturday), the BSE and NSE conducted a special trading session in equity and equity derivative segments.

Typically, switching to the DR site is done to ensure business continuity in the case of a major disruption or failure at the primary site.

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