FINAL TRADE: Indices end at fresh closing highs; Sensex gains 256 pts, Nifty ends above 26,000

Sensex, Nifty (September 25): Indian equities in Wednesday's session (September 25) ended at fresh highs even as the markets remained rangebound for the larger part of the session. At the close, Nifty ended above 26,000 at 26,004, up 0.25 per cent, while the Sensex ended 0.3 per cent or 255.83 points higher at 85,169.87.

Sectorally, while all other sectors saw profit booking, metal, media and banking stocks led the gains. Furthermore, PSU Banks and IT stocks saw the most cut of up to 1 per cent.

From the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like Power Grid Corporation, Axis Bank, Grasim Industries, NTPC and Bajaj Finserv, while laggards were LTIMindtree, Tata Consumer Products, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors and Titan.

Vaibhav Porwal, co-founder, Dezerv on the markets performance said, "The current market levels are a reflection of market fundamentals and liquidity flows. Fundamentally the markets should deliver 12-15% returns per annum and therefore we expect 18-24 months for markets to get to these levels. However, there is a strong buying momentum in the market that is fueled by strong liquidity. In such a scenario markets can overextend. Which means that we may see the 100k number shortly."

Meanwhile, European markets traded mixed as the bullish sentiment post China's stimulus aid faded. The Pan European Stoxx 600 index traded weak by a tad.

Rupee also traded positively and ended higher. This strength is likely supported by a weak dollar index and continued positive sentiment in Indian markets, said- Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities.