Sensex ends at 48,677, Nifty closes at 14,617

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed the session at 48,677.5 levels, up 424 points or 0.88 per cent. In the intra-day trade, the 30-share barometer hit a high and low of 48,743 and 48,254, respectively.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 hit an intra-day high of 14,637 but shut shop at 14,618 levels, up 121 points or 0.84 per cent.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap index settled over 1 per cent higher while the S&P BSE SmallCap index gained 0.7 per cent.

Global markets

European stocks bounced back on Wednesday after a sharp selloff in the previous session, helped by gains in commodity and banking stocks. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.3 per cent, with the German DAX jumping 1.3 per cent and the UK's FTSE 100 gaining 1.1 per cent.

On Wall Street, futures of all three main indices were ruling up to 0.5 per cent higher.

(With inputs from Reuters)