Closing bell: Sensex rises 227 points, Nifty settles at 12,248

Domestic stock markets ended Friday's session on a positive note, as investors assessed a clutch of corporate earnings reports and awaited the release of the budget. The Sensex settled 226.79 points, or 0.55 percent higher at 41,613.19. The Nifty50 gained 67.90 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 12,248.25. Banking, financial services and FMCG stocks led the indices higher.

The Nifty MidCap 100 index surged a percent, while the banking gauge, Nifty Bank rose 0.86 percent. ICICI Bank was the biggest contributor to Nifty Bank’s gain ahead Of Q3 results tomorrow.

Nine out of 11 sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) settled higher, with the Nifty metal index ending 0.97 percent higher.

ICICI Bank, HDFC and Axis Bank were the top contributors to the gains in Sensex. Top percentage gainers on the 50-scrip index were Yes Bank, Ultratech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Britannia and Kotak Mahindra Bank, ending between 2.23 percent and 4.03 percent higher.

Ultratech recovered 4 percent from lows after slipping on Q3 results.

"There have been mixed cues in the last couple of days, China is a cause of concern and domestically earnings have not been very encouraging," Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Securities was quoted as saying in a Reuters report.

"Now there is anticipation about the budget, lot of hope is being built around it and the outcome will give further direction to markets," he added.

For the week, benchmarks lost 0.8 percent, while Midcap was the only major index with gains.