Special trading session: Benchmark indices NSE Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex opened the first phase of Saturday's special trading session on a positive note amid strong investor sentiments following Q3 GDP data. Both the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange informed the public on Friday night regarding the special trading session on Saturday to test the efficacy of the market's disaster recovery system, ensuring its robustness in the face of potential emergencies.

The blue-chip Nifty 50 opened at 22,406.95 and touched a record high of 22,420.25 during early trade. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened at 73,848.19 and touched an all-time high of 73,982.12 during early trade.

The special live trading session, conducted by the prominent stock exchanges BSE and NSE, was specifically designed to assess the market's readiness to handle major disruptions or failures at the primary site. Notably, this session included an intra-day switchover from the Primary Site (PR) to the Disaster Recovery (DR) site.

The trading session comprises of two segments: the first, held from 9:15 am to 10 am on the PR, followed by the second session from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm on the DR site, as outlined by the exchanges in separate circulars.

Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, and State Bank of India emerged as the top gainers among the Sensex constituents, while Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, ICICI Bank, and NTPC witnessed declines.

The positive momentum in the market was further bolstered by India's robust economic performance, with the economy expanding by a better-than-expected 8.4 per cent in the final quarter of 2023, marking its fastest pace in one-and-a-half years.

Additionally, the US markets closed with gains on Friday, adding to the positive sentiment. Moreover, India's manufacturing sector demonstrated notable strength, reaching a five-month high in February, driven by increased factory production and sales fueled by both domestic and external demand, as per a monthly survey.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) also contributed to the bullish sentiment by purchasing equities worth Rs 128.94 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark surged by 1,245.05 points or 1.72 per cent, closing at a historic high of 73,745.35, while the Nifty climbed by 355.95 points or 1.62 per cent, settling at a new record closing high of 22,338.75.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed by 2 per cent to USD 83.55 a barrel, adding to the overall optimism in the market.