The S&P BSE Sensex logged in third session of gains while the broader Nifty 50 index rose for fifth session in a row led by gains in Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, State Bank of India, Tata Motors and IndusInd Bank. The benchmarks opened higher and for most part of the day traded firmly higher. However, selling pressure in information technology heavyweights like HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys capped the upmove for Sensex and Nifty. In intraday trades the Sensex rose as much as 198 points and the Nifty 50 index briefly moved above its important psychological level of 11,050.

The Sensex ended 125 points or 0.3 per cent higher at 37,271 and Nifty 50 index advanced 33 points or 0.3 per cent to close at 11,036.

Eight of 11 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended higher led by the Nifty Realty index's 4.14 per cent gain.

Nifty Auto, PSU Bank and Metal indices also rose between 2.3 and 3.6 per cent each.

On the other hand, Nifty IT index was top loser, down 1.4 per cent.

Mid- and small-cap shares outperformed their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 Index advanced 0.9 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index climbed 1.5 per cent.

Yes Bank was top Nifty gainer in today's session. The stock rose 13 per cent to close at Rs 71.30 after its chief executive officer and managing director Ravneet Gill said the private sector lender was close to securing a deal to sell a minority stake to a global technology company.

Tata Motors surged 10.66 per cent to Rs 135 on the back of heavy trading volumes as 58 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE compared with an average of 41.44 lakh shares traded daily in the past two weeks.

Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Vedanta, Bajaj Auto and IndusInd Bank also rose between 2.6-5.1 per cent each.

On the flipside, ONGC, Wipro, GAIL India, HCL Technologies, Zee Entertainment, NTPC, Coal India and UPL were among the laggards.

The overall market breadth was extremely positive as 1,337 shares ended higher while 472 closed lower on the NSE.