It was a strong session for markets making gains for the third straight session on the eve of F&O expiry. Although it started of tepid but picked up pace and closed higher, despite some mixed global cues.

The uptrend was initiated by midcaps and then the effect rubbed on to the frontline stocks on the back of some bargain hunting and strong numbers by the corporates like Bharti Airtel [Get Quote], ONGC [Get Quote] M&M and Deccan Chronicle.

The Sensex managed to close above the 10600 level. The Sensex closed with gains of 202 at 10,617.27 and the Nifty gained 70 points at 3110.

The Asian markets were flattish but the European markets have opened in the green.

The BSE Small Cap Index closed at 4,968.19, up 114 points.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 4,181.54, up 86 points.

About 1613 shares have advanced, 734 shares declined, and 76 shares are unchanged.

All the BSE sectoral indices closed in the green. Banking stocks lead the rally followed by metal and auto stocks.

The BSE FMCG Index was up 2.7% at 1,906.05. Nestle [Get Quote], McDowell, Colgate, Shaw Wallace [Get Quote] and Tata Tea [Get Quote] closed in green.

The BSE Oil and Gas Index rose 2.4% at 5,109.76. GAIL, IOC, ONGC and Chennai Petro advanced higher.

The BSE Auto Index added 2.2% at 4,367.16. M&M, Escorts, Hind Motors, Cummins and Tata Motors [Get Quote] closed in positive terrain.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was up 2.1% at 6,691.54. Carborundum, HEG, Praj Industries [Get Quote], Crompton Greave and Dredging Corporation closed higher.

The BSE Health Care Index was up by 2% at 3,165.16. Ranbaxy [Get Quote] Labs, Matrix Lab, Sun Pharma [Get Quote], Ipca Labs and Wyeth were among the major gainers.

The BSE IT Index was up by 2% at 3,920.17 moved up. Mphasis BFL, Moser Baer [Get Quote], Patni Computer and HCL [Get Quote] Tech jumped.

The BSE Metal Index advanced by 1.2% at 7,786.49. Welspun Guj, Sesa Goa [Get Quote], Hindalco [Get Quote] and Jindal Steel witnessed buying interest.

The BSE Consumer Durables Index gained 1.3% at 2,607.26. Whirlpool [Get Quote], BPL, Su-Raj Diamonds [Get Quote], Blue Star [Get Quote] and Titan Industries [Get Quote] were up.

The BSE Bankex was up 0.9% at 4,609.94. UTI Bank [Get Quote], Kotak Mahindra, Allahabad Bank [Get Quote], Bank of India [Get Quote] and HDFC Bank [Get Quote] were among the gainers.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 5795.1 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 31531.84 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 2446.3 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 39773.24 crore.

Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Investments Discussion Group

Chat with market expert Pranav Sanghavi every Tuesday

For more information about trading and markets log on to www.moneycontrol.com