A new round of vaccine optimism and diminishing political uncertainty helped global stocks build on recent gains for the holiday-shortened week

U.S.-listed shares of iQIYI Inc fell 1.7% after Reuters reported Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd had put on hold talks to buy a controlling stake in the video streaming service.

There were no contracts concluded during today’s trading session on the derivatives market of the NSE.

The dim performance is attributed to an increase in loan loss provisions which surged by 76% in what the lender says is sufficient to cover future potential credit losses.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.915 following its decline earlier this week from levels above 92.4.