Equity gauges Sensex and Nifty notched up gains for the second straight session on Thursday following hectic buying mainly in auto, financial and IT counters.

The BSE benchmark Sensex closed higher by 272.21 points or 0.56 per cent at 48,949.76. In volatile trade, the index oscillated between a high of 49,011.31 and a low of 48,614.11 during the day.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty ended with a gain of 106.95 points or 0.73 per cent at 14,724.80.

On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and ICICI bank emerged as the prominent gainers.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, ONGC, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, and NTPC were the major laggards.

Of the Sensex constituents, 20 shares ended with gains.

"The trend of positive news alternating with negative news continues. President Biden's decision to back waiving intellectual property rights on vaccines is a big positive. This will quicken the vaccination process enabling countries like India to come out of the pandemic faster," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

But data on daily infections indicate a rise, though mild, after five days of decline, he said adding lockdowns and restrictions on mobility are increasing, impacting the economic recovery.

Elsewhere in Asia, barring China, bourses ended with gains as investors noted signs of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic impact.

On the forex market front, the rupee ended 13 paise higher at 73.78 against the US currency.