Indian Markets closed higher on back on strong global cues and positive reports from various brokerage firms. The markets closed higher for the seventh consecutive day. Huge buying was seen in shares of banking, metal, realty, auto and oil & gas stocks. The Sensex surpassed the 11,000 mark while the Nifty tested the 3,400 level during the day but managed to end lower. The Sensex touched an intraday high of 11,069 before closing the day at 10,967 up 163 points or 1.51%. The Nifty ended up 40 points or 1.21% to 3,382 and touched a day's high of 3417. The BSE Midcap Index was up 3.1% or 106 points and the Small cap Index went up 3.9% or 147. The advance decline ratio was quite strong since the morning trade, but the volumes were on the lower side as compared to previous session. The April Nifty future ended on a 10 point discount.

Tomorrow, the Indian markets are closed.

Movers & Shakers

The BSE Metal Index outperformed other indices, went up 5.5% or 373 points. Tata Steel shot up 8.3%. Sterlite Industries, JSW Steel, Sesa Goa, Jindal Saw and SAIL were up 3-7%.

Banking was another space that showed relative strength. SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank jumped 4-7%. The BSE Bankex surged 5% or 255 points.

The BSE Realty Index moved up 4.1% or 84. HDIL shot up 15.7%. Parsvnath, Orbit Corporation, Omaxe and DLF were up 5-9%.

The Auto Index closed at 2.7% or 90 points higher. Shares like Tata Motors gained 12%. Ashok Leyland, Bharat Forge, M&M and Maruti Suzuki gained 2-5%.

Among the Sensex pack, Tata Motors led the gainers. The stock jumped more than 12 %. Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries and SBI were the other major gainers up more than 6.8 % each.

However, Wipro and TCS were among the main losers in the pack down 2% each.