Mumbai, Sept. 25 -- The key equity benchmarks ended higher on Friday, supported by value buying after the sharp decline in the previous session. Easing crude oil prices and a stronger rupee also supported investor sentiment. Buying interest in select domestic-focused sectors, particularly consumer durables and auto stocks, helped the benchmarks recover, while IT and healthcare stocks declined. The Nifty settled above the 23,100 level.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 315.20 points or 0.43% to 73,895.74. The Nifty 50 index added 77.40 points or 0.34% to 23,140.50. The 50-unit index fell 1.64% in the previous session.

Axis Bank (up 3.03%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.75%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.92%) boosted the Nifty higher today.

In the broader m...