Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty advanced in opening trade on Friday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision.

Besides, buying in realty, metal and commodity stocks amid gains on Wall Street bolstered sentiments, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 120.72 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 69,642.41. The broader index Nifty climbed 46.05 points, or 0.22 per cent to 20,947.20.

JSW Steel was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 1.11 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, ITC, M&M, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Bank.

In contrast, ICICI Bank, SBI, Kotak Bank, and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

"The market is likely to remain in a range in the near-term. Consolidation around the present levels is likely before the next phase of the rally begins. The undercurrents in the economy indicate a robust economy capable of sustaining the current trend of earnings growth into FY25.

"Leading indicators like power demand, housing demand, credit growth and revival of rural demand suggest a resilient economy which can keep the market buoyant, restrained only by valuations.

"Fairly valued segments like banking may be accumulated on dips. Falling crude is positive for paints, tyres and aviation where demand continues to be robust," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,564.03 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

The Reserve Bank of India is expected to maintain the status quo on the interest rate in its bi-monthly monetary policy decision to be announced later in the day.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul were in the green in mid-session deals, while Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading with losses.

The US markets ended with significant gains in overnight trade on Thursday, with the Nasdaq rallying more than 1 per cent.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.53 per cent higher to USD 75.18 a barrel.

On Thursday, the 30-share index fell 132.04 points, or 0.19 per cent, to close at 69,521.69. The gauge hit the lowest intraday level of 69,320.53. Broader index Nifty declined 36.55 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 20,901.15.

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