Mumbai, July 17 -- Key equity benchmark indices surged on Friday despite weak global cues, with the Nifty 50 closing above the 24,300 mark and the Sensex rallying nearly 1,000 points. The rally was led by strong buying in IT and banking stocks after upbeat quarterly earnings from Tech Mahindra and Jio Financial Services, while optimism ahead of Reliance Industries' June-quarter results further boosted heavyweight stocks. Value buying in large-cap counters and a technical breakout above the 24,200 level added momentum to the upmove. However, the broader market remained under pressure, with midcap and smallcap indices ending lower, indicating that gains were concentrated in large-cap stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex surged 964.58 points or 1.25%...