Benchmark Sensex rebounded 496 points while Nifty closed above the 21,600 level on Friday as value buying in heavyweight stocks and a firm trend in global markets helped indices cut short three days of losses.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 496.37 points or 0.70 per cent to settle at 71,683.23. During the day, it zoomed 708.78 points or 0.99 per cent to 71,895.64.

The Nifty climbed 160.15 points or 0.75 per cent to close at 21,622.40 with 43 of its shares closing in the green and seven in the red.

In the past three days, the BSE benchmark fell by 2.91 per cent, and the Nifty declined 2.87 per cent.

"A 'buy on dips' and encouraging global cues propelled the market's recovery," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

"Today’s rebound was broad based; however, investors are disappointed and expect moderation in the rally. FIIs persist with risk-off sparked by the likelihood that interest rates may not moderate and domestic earnings growth can slow down as per the initial Q3 results announced," Nair said.

Among the Sensex firms, Bharti Airtel rose the most by 3.52 per cent. NTPC rose by 3.04 per cent and Tech Mahindra by 2.56 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Axis Bank, JSW Steel ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro were the major gainers.

IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India were the laggards.

HDFC Bank extended its losses for the fourth straight day, falling by 1.08 per cent. The stock declined around 10 per cent in the four sessions after the release of its third quarter financial results.

"Firm global cues triggered a gap-up start in Nifty, followed by range bound movement till the end," Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.69 per cent and smallcap index climbed 1.06 per cent.

All the indices ended higher. Oil & gas rallied 2.17 per cent, metal zoomed 1.69 per cent, industrials went up by 1.62 per cent, energy climbed 1.58 per cent, commodities jumped 1.44 per cent, teck (1.29 per cent) and IT (1.06 per cent).

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark fell 885.22 points or 1.21 per cent, and the Nifty declined 272.15 points or 1.24 per cent.

In Asian markets, Seoul, and Tokyo settled in the green while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were trading higher. The US markets ended with gains on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.63 per cent to USD 79.60 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 9,901.56 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

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