Gains across sectors barring IT pushed the markets higher, led by strong buying interest in banking and automobile stocks.

Top percentage gainers on the 50-scrip index were Yes Bank, Tata Motors and Eicher Motors, finishing the session with gains of 15.47 per cent, 13.27 per cent and 7.96 per cent respectively.

Reliance Industries, HDFC and IndusInd Bank contributed the most to the upmove in Sensex.

Analysts say optimism on corporate earnings and easing of concerns about the financial sector supported the markets.

“Positive earnings from Federal Bank signal that stress in the banking sector is limited to few groups… Banking sector stocks are also rising ahead of the settlement of weekly Nifty Bank derivatives contracts,” AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, told NDTV.

Federal Bank on Wednesday reported a 56.63 per cent jump in standalone net profit to Rs. 416.70 crore in the second quarter of current financial year. Its gross non-performing assets - or bad loans - as a percentage of total loans stood at 3.07 per cent, as against 2.99 per cent in the previous quarter.

The Nifty Bank index on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) - comprising shares of 12 major banks in the country - jumped as much as 1.79 per cent in intraday trade before settling with a gain of 1.58 per cent.

Analysts awaited more large cap companies to report their quarterly earnings for cues. Reliance Industries will report its financial results for the quarter ended September 30 on Friday.

The next important levels for the Nifty are 11,700 and 12,150, Mr Prabhakar said. “The Nifty can make an all-time high led by ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries before Diwali.”