Indian equities ended higher in another session that saw benchmark indices swing between gains and losses. The BSE Sensex ended 280 points higher at 50,051 while the NSE Nifty 50 index ended 78 points higher at 14,814.

Among the top gainers include Shree Cements, UltraTech Cement, Divis Labs, Titan Company and Adani Ports, while losers namely Indian Oil Corp, Hindalco, Power Grid, GAIL India  and ONGC.

Banking stocks were the outperformers in today's session. The PSU Bank index rose to emerge as the top sectoral gainer, with gains of 3percent. The Nifty Bank index also rose nearly 600 points or 1.7percent. Sentiment for banking stocks received a boost after the Supreme Court lifted the stay granted on the classification of NPAs by banks.

Among other sectoral indices, the Metal index was the top sectoral laggard, ending 0.7percent lower while the FMCG index fell 0.4percent. Nifty Auto and Nifty Pharma indices ended the session with gains of 0.5 percent each.

Broader markets had a mixed session with the midcaps outperforming. The Nifty Midcap index ended 0.9percent higher while the Smallcap index rose 0.4percent at the close of trade.

Elsewhere, European indices traded in the red with French CAC down the most by 0.5 percent. US stock futures after overnight gains on retreat in US treasury yield also traded lower indicating a weak opening for the US markets.

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