India's BSE Sensex closed about 0.4% firmer at 82,501 on Friday, its highest in three weeks, marking the second session of gains, driven by banks and energy stocks. Market sentiment was bolstered by optimism over India-US trade negotiations and continued foreign institutional inflows, with FIIs buying Indian equities in the cash segment since 7 October. Among individual stocks, State Bank of India topped the gainers, rising more than 2%, while Axis Bank added over 1% following the central bank’s lending reforms and stronger-than-expected loan growth for the September quarter. India’s largest integrated power utility, NTPC, also advanced over 1%, after the PSU and the Government of Gujarat on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities in both conventional and non-conventional energy sectors. For the week, the index posted a 1.6% increase, notching the second straight weekly gain.