Fag-end buying in metal, banking, FMCG and IT stocks pushed the BSE benchmark Sensex 113 points  up to end above the 20,000 mark, on sustained capital inflows.
     
Shrugging off the rising food inflation and weak global sentiment, the 30-share barometer of the Bombay Stock Exchange settled at 20,069.12, up 112.78 points, or 0.57 percent.
     
The Sensex, which had dipped below 20,000 level in last session, recorded a net gain of 11.6 percent during September month, the best monthly gain so far this year.
     
Cutting-short the two-days of losses, the wide-based 50- share Nifty Index of the National Stock Exchange too moved up by 0.65 percent to finish at 6,029.95.
     
Trading session on the Dalal Street was choppy as Thursday was the expiry day for settlement in the derivative segment, analysts said. Sensex fluctuated between a high of 20,114.73 and a low of 19,864.46.
     
Investors were also cautious ahead of judgment over the Ayodhya issue, they said.
     
"The turnover was huge owing partly to the expiry of F&O contracts," IIFL analyst Amar Ambani said.
    
Market sweep

Losses suffered by oil & gas, consumer durables, auto and SU stocks were offset by a smart gain on FMCG, financial, IT and metal counters.
     
HDFC rose 3.2 percent to emerge as the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank by 1.45 percent, SBI 1.22 percent and ICICI Bank 0.80 percent.
     
Metal stocks were also in demand, with Hindalco rising by  2.61 percent and Jindal Steel 0.29 percent. Sterlite, which had plunged over 8 percent in last trade following a Madras High Court order, bounced back and ended 3.28 percent higher.
     
In the frontline IT stocks, Infosys rose 0.39 percent, TCS 0.16 percent and Wipro 1.61 percent. ITC rose 2.53 percent and HUL 0.75 percent.
     
"The stunning turnaround came on a day when the total market turnover touched a new record of Rs 2.2 lakh crore," Ambani said.
     
In the BSE-30 pack, 19 stocks ended with the gains, while 11 scrips closed in the red.
     
Reliance Industries, which holds the maximum weight in the Sensex, lost 1.28 percent to close at Rs 986.35. RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambai has been ranked at the top in the list of 100 richest Indians by Forbes India magazine.
      
R-Infra, controlled by younger brother billionaire Anil Ambani, too was under selling pressure and sank 1.28 percent.      

State-run energy major ONGC declined 1.48 percent and ACC 1.49 percent, the most in the Sensex stocks.

Other major losers were RCom that declined by 0.85 percent, Tata Motors 0.84 percent, M&M 0.73 percent, Hero Honda 0.53 percent and Jaiprakash Associates by 0.74 percent.
     
Food inflation increased to 16.44 percent in the week ended September 18, as the cost of cereals, fruits, select vegetables and milk rose on account of supply disruptions due to heavy rains and floods.
     
On Week-on-week basis, food inflation climbed by 0.98 percentage points from 15.46 percent in the week ended September 11.
      
Asian stocks fell amid concerns that Europe's debt crisis will slow global economic recovery and after Nintendo Co cut its profit forecast. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan ended with losses, while that of China and South Korea closed in green.
     
European markets exhibited weak trend in their afternoon deals. The CAC was down by 0.67 percent, the DAX by 0.33 percent and the FTSE by 0.24 percent.