Apart from DLF and Reliance Industries, the other notable gainers from the Nifty stocks were BPCL, HCL Tech, Ambuja Cements, HeroMotor Corp, Coal India and Gail.

Among the Nifty losers in trade today were Cipla, Jindal Steel, Jaiprakash Associates, Tata Motors, IDFC, Kotak Mahindra and HDFC.

Among non index stocks, shares of Binani Industries surged on reports that the company plans to sell a 40 per cent stake in its cement subsidiary.

Future Ventures dropped on reports that the company plans to buy a stake in Spykar. The Realty index had a good day today with realty stocks gaining on bargain hunting. Shares of Anant Raj, India Bulls and Parsvnath bounced from their previous lows.

Metal stocks, however, were subdued in trade with Jindal Steel, Jindal Saw, Hindalco and Sterlite Industries ending the day with losses.

The Bank Nifty index ended in the red with Union Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda dragging the index lower.

Infrastructure stocks had a quiet day today with most of the stocks in the sector moving in a narrow range.

Kingfisher Airlines was locked at the upper end of the circuit filter for a second day in a row, following a sharp jump of 5 per cent in the stock on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia ended the day higher led by strong gains in the Korean and Japanese markets. Indian markets are expected to trade steady ahead of the Union Budget 2013-2014.

GoodReturns.in