India’s BSE Sensex gained ground to close about 1.3% firmer at 78,151.5 on Friday, the highest in over a week, powered by gains in tech stocks, financials and autos. Optimism around corporate earnings offset concerns over Middle East tensions and ongoing foreing outflows. Tech Mahindra (+3.9%) outperformed as it reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and offered an upbeat demand outlook, boosting sentiment across the IT sector. TCS (3%), Infosys (1.5%) and HCL Tech (1.3%) all advanced firmly. Attention also turned to upcoming earnings from heavyweight company Reliance Industries (+2.6%) and private banks HDFC Bank (+1.4%) and ICICI Bank (+1.7%) after encouraging pre-quarter updates reinforced expectations of healthy quarterly results. Meanwhile, selling pressure weighed on Sun Pharma (-0.9%), Trent (-0.7%), Bharti Airtel (-0.6%), and UltraTech Cement (-0.6%). For the week, the benchmark gained roughly 0.8%.