Banks stocks that gained maximum traction in trade were the PSU banking stocks. Among the notable gainers from the space were Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank and Allahabad Bank.

The only losers from the Nifty was Jindal Steel. Along with banks the other stocks that gained ground were rate sensitives like autos and real estate. DLF jumped almost 5 per cent, while other real estate stocks that gained were Anant Raj, HDIL and IndiaBulls.

Heavyweight, Reliance Industries also supported the markets in trade, jumping 2.82 per cent, after having fallen substantially in the last few trading sessions.

Pharma stocks were once again in the limelight with notable gainers being Cipla, Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma. Wockhardt which had witnessed substantial gains on Monday rallied another 2 per cent in trade.

Glaxo Smithkline Pharma which had jumped following the open offer by its parent company ended the day flat.

Mid cap stocks also rallied in line with the broad markets and ended the day higher. Biocon jumped as much as 11 per cent in trade, while other gainers were Reliance Capital and Reliance Power.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia ended the day mixed while most of Europe was trading with substantial gains ahead of the Fed meet.

GoodReturns.in