The Sensex ended the day higher by 148 points (provisional), while the Nifty rallied 44 points in trade. Among the top gainers in trade today were Bharat Heavy, which rallied on better then expected core output data. Infrastructure major, Larsen and Toubro also reacted positively to the core sector data.

Banking stocks were in the limelight following a bout of short covering. Banks that gained in trade were ICICI Bank, which jumped 3%, while other notable gainers in trade were HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and Canara bank.

Real estate major DLF, was the star performer in trade today gaining more then 6%. Other notable gainers were IndiaBulls and Sobha Developer.

Software stocks were subdued in trade, following strong gains in the rupee. Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech ended the day with losses, while TCS was the only gainer among the top notch IT stocks.

India's largest passenger car maker, Maruti jumped 2% after it reported a 20% growth in sales. On the other hand TVS Motors rallied 6% after the company reported a 27% jump in net sales for September.

Pharma shares ended the day flat except Ranbaxy Laboratories, which jumped 6% in trade. Wockhardt on the other hand continued to be locked at the lower end of the circuit filter.

Mid Cap stocks also ended the day higher in line with the broad markets. Notable gainers from the space were Allahabad Bank, GMR Infrastructure, Karnataka Bank and Tata Global Beverages.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia ended the day mostly higher on expectations that the Budget woes in the US would ultimately be resolved.

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