Mumbai, Oct 9 : The domestic equity indices ended the session on a positive note on Thursday, amid value buying in IT, metal and PSU banks stocks.

Additionally, pharma sector stocks received significant support as the Donald Trump administration clarified that they plan not to impose tariffs on generic drug imports from overseas. The Nifty Pharma index soared 228 points or 1.05 per cent during the session.

Sensex closed at 82,172.10, up 398.44 points or 0.49 per cent. The 30-share index started the session with a decent gap-up at 81,900.0 against last day's closing of 81,773.66. The index further escalated the momentum to reach the intraday high at 82,247.73 amid buying across the sectors.

Nifty ended the session at 25,181.80, up 135 points or 0.54 per cent.

"The market resumed its upward momentum after a brief pause in the previous session, with the Nifty index forming a bullish candle on the daily chart. It took support at its 21-day moving average, near the 25,000 mark, but once again encountered resistance around the 25,200 level," analysts said.

"The immediate support has now shifted higher to 25,000, and as long as the index holds above this level, a move towards 25,400 in the October series appears likely," they added.

Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Ultratech Cement, BEL, Sun Pharma, Eternal, Trent, TCS, Kotak Bank, L&T, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, and NTPC were the top gainers from the Sensex basket. Axis Bank, Titan and HDFC Bank settled lower.

The majority of sectoral indices closed on a positive note amid value buying. Nifty Fin Services rose 67 points or 0.25 per cent, Nifty Bank escalated 173 points or 0.31 per cent, Nifty Auto jumped 64 points or 0.24 per cent, Nifty FMCG increased 217 points or 0.40 per cent, and Nifty IT ended the session 396 points or 1.12 per cent higher.

The broader market followed suit as well. Nifty Smallcap 100 jumped 109 points or 0.61 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 surged 563 points or 0.97 per cent, and Nifty 100 escalated 139.80 points or 0.54 per cent.

Rupee traded flat at 88.76, showing limited volatility since last week or so, as FII selling eased and crude prices remained range-bound.

"However, the currency continues to hover near lower levels, keeping concerns of further depreciation, potentially toward the 90 mark if global sentiment weakens. Focus for the next couple of days is on Fed Chair Powell's speech and key U.S. data on unemployment and nonfarm payrolls, all of which could drive sharp volatility in the forex market," said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.

/IANS