Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty darted up on Thursday, propped up by robust buying in metal, realty and energy stocks amid a mixed trend in global equities.

A strengthening rupee further bolstered sentiment, even as relentless foreign capital outflows restricted the gains, traders said.

The 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 212.88 points or 0.36 per cent to settle at 59,756.84. During the day, it jumped 415.98 points or 0.69 per cent to 59,959.94.

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 80.60 points or 0.46 per cent to end at 17,736.95.

"Trading session was marked by extreme volatility on the monthly F&O expiry day, but a sharp rally in metals, realty and oil & gas stocks helped markets maintain the bullish sentiment seen in the recent trades.

"Investors are positive about the India growth story, which is driving markets higher despite several headwinds on the external front," Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd, said.

Tata Steel was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 3.02 per cent, followed by Power Grid, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's and NTPC.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra and Nestle were among the laggards.

Realty, oil & gas, metals and power indices rose the most, while the IT index was the biggest loser. Broad markets indices mildly underperformed the Nifty even as the advance-decline ratio was positive at 1.23:1, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge ended 0.44 per cent higher and smallcap index climbed 0.41 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, metal rallied 3.02 per cent, followed by realty (2.95 per cent), utilities (1.85 per cent), power (1.84 per cent), commodities (1.37 per cent), energy (1.14 per cent), oil & gas (1.39 per cent) and energy (1.14 per cent).

IT and teck were the only laggards.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 34 paise to close at 82.47 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday.

"Markets ended with modest gains on the expiry day of October month derivatives contracts amid mixed cues.

"After the initial uptick, the Nifty index oscillated in a range and finally settled closer to the upper band of the day's range at 17,736.95 levels. Meanwhile, sectoral indices also traded mixed wherein buoyancy in realty, metal and oil & gas kept the traders busy while the IT pack was on the back foot," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul and Hong Kong ended higher, while Tokyo and Shanghai settled lower.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals.

"Asian markets benefited from speculation among investors that major central banks are considering slowing their aggressive interest hikes, given signs of an economic slowdown.

"European markets were mixed ahead of the monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank due at 8.15 AM ET. The central bank is widely expected to hike its benchmark rate by 75 basis points to combat rising inflation," Jasani said.

Domestic equities traded firmly following its global counters on the back of hopes that major central banks could slow down their pace of interest rate hikes. After a short break, Indian markets resumed their positive momentum with Nifty opening gap-up, Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

Stock markets were closed on Wednesday for 'Diwali Balipratipada'.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.13 per cent higher at USD 95.79 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 247.01 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data.