Domestic stocks ended in green for fourth straight session of trade as the key equity indices logged modest gains after volatile session of trade. The Sensex ended above 36,000 mark after slipping below that level in mid-afternoon trade. Gains were led by index pivotals HDFC, ITC and Axis Bank. Investors sentiment was strong amid a firm trend overseas, supported by rising hopes that the US and China would strike a deal to end their trade war.

Indices opened higher and continued trading on a firm note in morning trade. Indices trimmed gains in mid-morning trade. The market further pared gains in early afternoon trade. After firming up in afternoon trade, key barometers sharply reversed trend and turned negative in mid-afternoon trade. Indices bounced back in late trade.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 231.98 points or 0.64% to settle at 36,212.91. The index hit high of 36,250.54 and low of 35,863.29 in intraday trade.

The Nifty 50 index rose 53 points or 0.49% to settle at 10,855.15. The index hit high of 10,870.40 and low of 10,749.40 in intraday trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.04%. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.17%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1141 shares rose and 1453 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.

Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index (down 1.74%), the S&P BSE Metal index (down 1.21%), the S&P BSE Utilities index (down 0.83%) underperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE FMCG index (up 1.11%), the S&P BSE Realty index (up 0.66%), the S&P BSE Bankex (up 0.69%) outperformed the Sensex.

Axis Bank (up 2.94%), ITC (up 2.29%), Tata Motors (up 2.09%), Bharti Airtel (up 1.92%) and HDFC (up 1.74%) were the major Sensex gainers.

Yes Bank (down 3.07%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.51%), ONGC (down 1.26%), Bajaj Finance (down 0.67%) and NTPC (down 0.54%) were the major Sensex losers.

IndusInd Bank rose 1.47%. IndusInd Bank's net profit rose 5.21% to Rs 985.03 crore on 32.13% increase in total income to Rs 7232.32 crore in Q3 December 2018 over Q3 December 2017. The result was announced during trading hours today, 9 January 2019.

IndusInd Bank's ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 1.13% as on 31 December 2018 as against 1.09% as on 30 September 2018 and 1.16% as on 31 December 2017. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 0.59% as on 31 December 2018 as against 0.48% as on 30 September 2018 and 0.46% as on 31 December 2017.

Infosys rose 0.9%. The company announced that its board will consider proposals, including but not limited to, buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the company, payment of special dividend, for implementation of the Capital Allocation Policy at its meeting to be held on 11 January 2019. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 January 2019.

Tata Steel fell 2.44%. The company said that standalone steel production was marginally up in Q3 December 2018 over Q3 December 2017 with steady plant utilization. Sales volume was lower due to seasonal headwinds, particularly in terms of softer Automotive demand, and inventory replenishment. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 January 2019.

Vedanta fell 0.51%. The company announced after market hours yesterday, 8 January 2019, that the Supreme Court on 8 January 2019 post hearing of the Sterlite Copper matter (in the Civil Appeal No. 23 of 2019 filed by the State of TN & Others and the SLP(C) Nos.129-131/2019 filed by Vedanta), has passed an order to uphold the NGT's order dated 15 December 2018, allowing Vedanta to reopen its Copper Smelter at Tuticorin. The Supreme Court has further stayed the impugned order dated 21 December 2018 (which had granted status quo on the NGT order of 15 December 2018) passed by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. The directions that have been passed by the NGT vide its judgement dated 15 December 2018 will continue to subsist and will be subject to the ultimate outcome of the appeal. Vedanta said it is approaching the state government for necessary approvals for restarting the smelter as per SC directions.

Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.52%. The company said its total production fell 12% to 1.07 lakh units in December 2018 over December 2017. The announcement was made during market hours today, 9 January 2019.

NMDC lost 3.74% to Rs 91.40. NMDC said the company's board has approved the proposal to buyback of not exceeding 10,20,40,815 equity shares (representing 3.23% of the total number of equity shares in the paid-up share capital of the company) at Rs 98 per equity share for an aggregate consideration not exceeding Rs 1000 crore from all the equity shareholders of the company, as on the record date, on a proportionate basis through a tender offer route. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 January 2019.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 70.4650, compared with closing of 70.2150 during the previous trading session.

In global commodities markets, Brent crude oil futures edged higher. Brent for March 2019 settlement was up $0.95 a barrel at $59.67 a barrel.

Meanwhile, India's GDP is expected to grow at 7.3% in the fiscal year 2018-19, and 7.5% in the following two years, the World Bank has forecast, attributing it to an upswing in consumption and investment growth. The World Bank said India will continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world.

Overseas, stocks in Europe were trading higher on Wednesday as investors monitored an unexpected third day of trade talks between China and the US. Asian shares rose on Wednesday, as investors remained cautiously optimistic Beijing and Washington could move forward on a trade deal.

US stocks closed higher for a third straight session Tuesday as optimism over US-China trade talks bolstered sentiment.

On the US data front, small-business optimism fell in December, according to the National Federation of Independent Business small-business optimism index, which decreased 0.4 points to a seasonally adjusted level of 104.4, its lowest in 14 months.

The number of new job openings fell to its lowest level since June, at 6.89 million, down from 7.13 million in October, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.