Indian share markets closed higher for the third consecutive day with the  BSE Sensex ended 254 points higher at 51,279 while the NSE Nifty 50 index ended 76 points higher at 15,174 on Wednesday. Indian markets will be shut tomorrow on account of Maha Shivratri. As a result, today's session acted as the expiry for the weekly options contracts.

Among top gainers today, the names comes JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and Sun Pharma, while losers are SBI Life Insurance, ONGC, IOC, HDFC Life and Hero Motocorp.

Among the sectoral indices, I.T., Pharma and Metals outperformed in today's session. The Nifty Metal index was the top sectoral gainer, ending 1.9 percent higher while the Nifty I.T. index gained 1.7 percent. The index for drugmakers also ended the session with gains of 1.5 percent.

Among the other gainers, the Nifty Auto index ended with gains of 0.9 percent. Other sectoral indices like the Nifty Bank and the Nifty Media index ended little changed. The PSU Bank index was the only sectoral laggard in today's session, ending 0.2 percent lower.

Broader markets outperformed in today's trading session. The Nifty Midcap index ended with gains of 0.8 percent while the Nifty Smallcap index ended 1.4 percent higher.

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