New Delhi, April 20 -- The Nifty 50 ended 1.8% higher at 23,851.65, and the BSE Sensex advanced 1.96% to settle at 78,553.2, just before the Good Friday holiday.

Both indices gained 4.5% during the holiday-shortened week, outperforming most major Asian markets, which lagged amid concerns over U.S. tariffs and their potential impact on global economic growth.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, the most heavily weighted stocks on the Nifty index, surged by 7.2% and 5.5%, respectively, this week, reaching record-high levels ahead of their upcoming earnings announcements over the weekend.

Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking, believes that the Indian stock market sentiment is strong as the Nifty 50 index has decisively given a fresh...