Sensex Rises 92 Points; Nifty Closes At 8,541

(RTTNews) - Indian shares eked out modest gains on Friday, as hopes for the passage of the GST Bill in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, higher operating margins reported by ITC at its cigarette business and gains in rupee amid increasing foreign fund inflows helped offset mixed global cues.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended the session up 92.72 points or 0.33 percent at 27,803.24, while the CNX Nifty index gained 31.10 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 8,541.20.

Cairn India jumped 8.3 percent on news that that it expects to merge with parent Vedanta by the end of March. Vedanta shares soared 7.5 percent.

Among other top gainers, Infratel, Power Grid Corp and Tata Motors climbed 2-3 percent. Banks ended broadly lower, with Bank of India, SBI and PNB losing 1-3 percent.

Globally, Asian stocks fell broadly, with the oil price downturn and fading BOJ stimulus expectations weighing on markets. European stocks swung between gains and losses after lackluster PMI reports on Eurozone and U.K. private sector activity.