Domestic stock markets started Friday's session on a higher note amid a mixed trend in global peers, a day after the central bank asked non-banking financial companies to appoint risk officers. The S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 237.9 points to touch 37,631.38 in early trade, and the NSE Nifty moved to 11,319.00, up 61.9 points from the previous close. Advances in banking, financial services, fast-moving consumer goods and media stocks supported the upmove.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday that NBFCs with asset size of more than Rs. 5,000 crore should appoint a chief risk officer (CRO), in a move seen tightening regulation in the shadow banking sector.

At 9:37 am, the Sensex traded 221.03 points - or 0.59 per cent - higher at 37,614.51 while the Nifty was up 55.00 points - or 0.49 per cent - at 11,312.10.

Top gainers on the 50-scrip benchmark index at the time were Bajaj Finance, Yes Bank, Zee Entertainment and Indiabulls Housing Finance, trading between 2.49 per cent and 4.05 per cent higher.

HDFC, Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries contributed the most to the advances on Sensex.

Equities in other Asian markets struggled to end a bleak week in the black, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan losing early gains to dip 0.1 per cent. It was just above a 15-week trough but down 2 per cent for the week.

Shanghai stocks slipped 1.3 per cent amid the fallout from US President Donald Trump's move to block China's Huawei Technologies from buying vital American technology.

Japan's Nikkei bounced 1.5 per cent, while the main Australian index climbed 0.9 per cent to an 11-year peak. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.1 per cent.

(With inputs from Reuters)