Living up to the expectations of industry and the intent and commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government towards ongoing reforms, the national Budget 2017-18, targeted at the poor and middle class is well meaning, investor-friendly and stimulating, especially for the realty sector.

The central bank painted a relatively upbeat picture for the economy. "Labour market continued to strengthen and... economic activity has continued to expand at a moderate pace," Xinhua news agency cited a central bank statement after concluding its two-day policy meeting.

In a huge jolt to beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya, the CBI special court issued a non-bailable warrant against him in the IDBI Bank loan default case. The CBI also sought his extradition from the UK.

Ending months of speculation, Vodafone on Monday confirmed it is in talks with the Aditya Vikram Birla group for the merger of its Indian entity and Idea Cellular in what will be the largest such deal in the country's telecom space once it materialises.

Gold prices in Indian markets fell for the first time this year on Friday. The price of the yellow metal of 24 carat purity was hovering around Rs 29,000 per 10 grams on Friday as against the previous Rs 29,400.

After India's market regulator Sebi barred Vijay Mallya from trading in the securities market for allegedly diverting funds from the United Spirits Ltd (USL) in his capacity as its Chairman, the beleaguered businessman said on Thursday he is "getting used to these witch hunts".

Tata Sons' ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry on Monday replied to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on the "counter-allegations" made by the holding company of the industrial conglomerate.

As part of its previous announcement regarding offloading 2,850 employees by June 2017, Microsoft may soon cut 700 jobs during its earnings call on January 26, media reports said on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.85 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 19,827.25. The S&P 500 added 7.62 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 2,271.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 15.25 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 5,555.33, Xinhua news agency reported.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.37 per cent at 100.78 in late trading on Friday.