Buy or sell stocks, July 20 -- The Indian benchmark indices, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, ended sharply higher on Friday, 17 July, driven by strong buying in Reliance Industries and major private banking stocks ahead of the release of their June quarter earnings.

The Sensex surged 965 points, or 1.25%, to settle at 78,151.45, while the Nifty 50 climbed 262 points, or 1.09%, to close at 24,334.30.

Broader markets, however, underperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index declining 0.41% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index falling 0.21%.

Nifty 50 ended the session at 24,334.30, gaining 261.55 points (+1.09%), after a strong broad-based rally. The index opened on a firm note and maintained positive momentum throughout the sessi...