Indian stock markets opened higher on Friday, with the BSE Sensex climbing 158.19 points to 85,346.79 and the NSE Nifty rising 55.8 points to 26,202.35. Gains were driven by steady buying from domestic institutional investors and a rally in Reliance Industries, offsetting foreign institutional investor selling. Several blue-chip stocks like Asian Paints and Maruti were among the top gainers, while others like ITC lagged. Asian markets also saw upward movement.