Mumbai, Sep 13 (IANS): Bulls were back in action on Friday to end the week on a strong note. While the Sensex gained 280 points, the Nifty closed above the 11,000 mark over renewed hoped of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India.

Besides, global markets were trading higher after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to cut its main deposit rate by 10 basis points to on Thursday to revive up the struggling European economy.

The Sensex closed 280.71 points or 0.76 per cent higher at 37,384.99. It opened at 37,175.86 after ending the session on Thursday at 37,104.28. The broader Nifty finished at 11,075.90, higher at 93.10 points or 0.85 per cent.

"Subdued inflation kept hopes alive for rate cut and positive vibes to support the auto sector lifted the markets. Broad-based recovery in rate sensitive stocks aided the domestic market while additional policy measures from European Central Bank powered global peers," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

The August CPI came at 3.21 per cent as against 3.15 per cent in July. The marginal increase in CPI was mainly due to increase in food inflation, experts said.