Mumbai, April 17 -- Indian stock markets on Thursday ended on a strong note, driven by the banking stocks.

The stock market rose for the fourth straight day, with the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) reclaiming 20,800, led by the financial stocks.

At the end of the trading, BSE Sensex stood at 78,553.20, up 1,508.91 points or 1.96 per cent, while Nifty was up 414.45 points or 1.77 per cent at 23,851.65.

In the sectoral indices at the NSE, all the indices traded in green. The telecom, PSU Bank, Oil and Gas, pharma, auto, energy, and private bank sectors saw an upswing of 1 to 2 per cent in the trading session.

In today's trading, banking stocks were the standout performers, rallying on the back of easing CPI data and a normal...