The Sensex ended the day higher by 144 points, while the Nifty closed 41 points higher in trade today. Leading the pack of gainers were IT stocks led by Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies. In fact, Tata Consultancy Services rallied more then three per cent in trade, while Infosys Technologies was up more then one per cent.

Wipro too was amongst the list of Nifty winners and gained one per cent.

Nifty stocks that lost ground in trade were Bharat Heavy Electricals, Hero Motor Corp, Jaiprakash Associates and Ultratech Cement.

Mid cap stocks which have rallied sharply in the last few trading sessions came in for some selling pressure with notable losers being Voltas, Jain Irrigation and Crompton Graves. Aurobindo Pharma fell four per cent on persistent selling pressure.

Banking stocks were having a good session with notable gainers from the space being ICICI Bank, Syndicate Bank and Bank of India.

ONGC ended the day flat despite reports that the company had surrendered some of the gas block in South Sudan.

Retail stocks ended the day higher on buying support after reports suggested that retail sales had picked-up this season.

Meanwhile, Asian markets ended the day higher led by strong gains in the Shanghai Composite and the Singapore Strait Times.

GoodReturns.in