Markets ended the day sharply higher led by a surge in banking stocks. The Sensex ended the day higher by 351 points, while the Nifty gained 104 points at 6779 points.

Leading the set of Nifty gainers was Tata Motors which gained 4 per cent, while other notable gainers were ICICI Bank and Hindalco. But the stars in trade were the PSU banking stocks with Canara Bank ending the day higher by 5.5 per cent and Oriental Bank jumping 6 per cent. Other notable gainers from the PSU banking space were IDBI Bank and Union Bank of India.

Mid cap stocks also saw a sharp bounce with Crompton Greaves, India Cements and Reliance Infra gaining ground. HDFC Bank was the only stock from the Nifty that ended the day with losses. Software major, TCS which declared its results after market hours on Wednesday ended the day with gains. Reliance Industries ended the day higher ahead of its results to be declared later today.

Metal stocks also had a good session in trade with Hindalco and Tata Steel among the gainers.

Jindal Steel gained on reports that the Environment and Forests will decide on green nod to JSPL's Jharkhand steel plant on April 28. Mindtree on the other hand gained after its Q4 net profit rose to Rs 98.2 crore versus Rs 88.5 crore (QoQ).

Meanwhile, markets across Europe were trading with marginal losses. Asian markets ended the day mixed with the Jakarta Composite and the Hang Sang among the gainers, while the Shanghai Composite lost ground.

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