New Delhi: Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Friday ended nearly 2 per cent higher after the firm posted a 23 per cent increase in net profit in the March quarter. The stock rallied 4.78 per cent to Rs 839 during the day on the BSE. However, shares of the public sector insurer trimmed some of the intraday gains and ended at Rs 813.35, up 1.58 per cent. At the NSE, the stock settled 1.59 per cent higher at Rs 812.95. During the day, it jumped 4.84 per cent to Rs 839. On traded volume terms, 9.10 lakh shares of the firm were traded at the BSE and 188.03 lakh shares on the NSE during the day. LIC on Thursday posted a 23 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 23,420 crore in the March quarter, helped by core business and return on investment. The country’s biggest insurer had earned a profit of Rs 19,013 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. The total income of the insurer during the reporting quarter rose to Rs 2,53,592 crore from Rs 2,22,805 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal, LIC said in a regulatory filing. LIC’s income from first-year premiums also improved to Rs 12,970 crore in the latest January-March quarter against Rs 11,069 crore in the year-ago period.