Benchmark indices surged in trade, as a forecast by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) of above normal monsoons boosted sentiments.

The monsoon predictions came as a sigh of relief for the markets, after severe rural distress, following 2-years of drought like conditions across certain states.

Leading the set of gainers were stocks that are monsoon dependent. Hero Motors rallied on hopes that better than expected monsoon would boost demand for its 2-wheelers in rural areas.

Banking stocks led gainers in trade with ICICI Bank jumping nearly 3 per cent, while other notable winners were Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank and State Bank of India.Vedanta and Hindalco were the top gainers from the metal space.

Infosys was trading steady ahead of its results to be declared later on Friday. Wipro shares gained after reports that the company's board would consider buyback proposal on April 20

BPCL was the only Nifty stock that was trading in the red, following a rally in crude prices. Shares in ONGC and Oil India gained, following gains in crude prices.

Shares in Shilpa Medicare jumped as much as 11 per cent, after reports that the company has got good manufacturing practice certificate for 2 API units from PMDA-Japan.

Meanwhile, the rupee opened the day at 66.33 to the US dollar.

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