Domestic equity benchmarks ended higher for the fourth straight day on Thursday, close to their two-month highs. BSE's Sensex closed 1.27 percent higher at 36,170.41 and NSE's Nifty 50 rose 1.2 percent to end at 10,858.70. Nifty registered its best F&O expiry since March 2016.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 872 stocks advanced while 842 collapsed. Sector-wise, ten out of NSE's eleven sectoral gauges advanced, with the Nifty Financial Services Index gaining the most at 1.93 percent. On the other hand, Nifty IT index falling 0.78 percent amid the strengthening rupee. The in Indian rupee gained as much as 77 paise in afternoon trade to 69.85 against the US dollar. It closed at 70.62/dollar on Wednesday. Shares of Yes Bank fell sharply to hit its 33-month low at Rs 147 a piece after credit rating agencies ICRA and CARE Ratings Ltd lowered their ratings.

In the international market, US WTI (West Texas Intermediate), one of the two biggest benchmarks for oil price, fell below $50 for the first time since October 2016.

Markets in Europe as well the rest Asia were trading higher after the dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve on its interest rate hikes. Emerging market equities climbed to its highest level since early October.