Mumbai, Apr 26 (IANS): The Sensex advanced 336 points on Friday as the Brent crude -- the global oil benchmark -- retreated to $72 a barrel. The Brent had crossed the $75-mark on Thursday for the first time since the US decided to end sanctions waivers that allowed India to continue buying Iranian crude.

Analysts said that oil prices eased over expectations that oil-producing cartel OPEC could soon raise output to make up for a shortfall in exports from Iran in view of the US sanctions.

In line with the equities, the rupee was also aided by the easing oil prices, gaining nearly 25 paise against the US dollar during the day's trade.

Despite the overall upbeat mood, the Nifty Auto index fell over 1 per cent, most among the sectoral indices. Only three out of the 15 companies constituting the index could finish in the green.

However, most of the gains came during the last hours of trade. The BSE Sensex jumped 336.47 points or 0.87 per cent to 39,067.33. The Nifty surged 112.85 points or 0.97 per cent to 11,754.65.

"Falling crude prices and rising rupee helped sentiments on the street. Chinese stocks fell on Friday, posting their sharpest weekly fall since October 2018, as investors feared that China may not continue its stimulus measures amid signs of economic stabilisation," said Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities.

"The US-China trade issues that are taking longer than expected to be resolved also weighed on sentiments," Jasani added.

Tata Steel led the gains on the Sensex, surging over 6 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, TCS and State Bank of India.

The laggards were Tata Motors(DVR), Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj-Auto and Mahindra and Mahindra, falling up to 3.72 per cent.