Indian equity benchmark indices ended trade on Thursday, the day of April F&O expiry, over 1 percent higher.

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NSE

An across the board rally pushed the 30-scrip Sensex 702 points higher at 57,521 level, while the Nifty50 settled at 17,245, up 207 points.

26 of the 30 Sensex constituents and 45 of the 50 Nifty constituents ended the day in the green. Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Life, SBI Life, Asian Paints, UPL, PowerGrid, L&T, NTPC, SBI, and Infosys were the major gainers today.

Investors made Rs 2.5 lakh crore as market cap of BSE-listed companies increased to Rs 269.5 lakh crore, according to provisional exchange data.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index added 0.86 percent while the BSE Smallcap index edged 0.19 percent higher.

Among sectoral indices, FMCG, power, auto and capital goods added 1-2 percent each.

Global Markets

European stocks advanced on Thursday as investors reacted to a slew of earnings and continued to monitor developments in Ukraine, and Russia's next move on its gas supplies to Europe. The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 1 per cent in early trade, while Germany's DAX advanced 2 per cent. The UK's FTSE100 gained 0.9 per cent.

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