The Sensex ended the day higher by 14 points (provisional), while the Nifty closed lower by 10 points. Among the top gainers from the Nifty were banking stocks which saw a sharp rally on value buying. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank were among the gainers in trade.

Other Nifty stocks that rallied in trade was Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid Corporation, Hero Motor Corp, BPCL, Bank of Baroda and ITC.

Among the top losers in trade today was Ranbaxy, which dived almost 30% after reports that the company had received a warning for its production facility in Mohali. Other Nifty stocks that were weak in trade included Sesa Goa, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Ultratech Cement, Tata Power and DLF.

Software stocks were weak in trade with TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech among the top losers following sharp gains in the rupee.

Infrastructure stocks also ended the day lower with Bharat Heavy Electricals, Jaiprakash Associates ending lower.

HCL Infosystems surged in trade today following reports that the company could be merged with HCL Technologies.

PSU banking stocks were in the limelight once again with notable gainers including Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia saw a spectacular rally following reports that the hawkish Lawrence Summers had bowed out from the race for the Fed Chairman post. The Jakarta Composite rallied 3.35%, while the Hong Kong's Hang Sang, the Singapore's Strait Times and the Taiwan Weighted all gained more then 1% each.

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