At close, the Sensex was up 935.72 points or 1.68% at 56,486.02, and the Nifty was up 240.80 points or 1.45% at 16,871.30, as investors pinned hopes on a fresh round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators. Infosys was the top gainer on Sensex, accompanied by the State Bank of India, and HDFC Bank. HUL was the top laggard, followed by Sun Pharma, and Dr. Reddy’s. About 1684 shares have advanced, 1706 shares declined, and 134 shares are unchanged. Sectorally, the Nifty Realty index declined the most on the NSE, falling 2 percent, while the Nifty Bank, Financial Services, and IT indices added 2 percent each. India VIX closed 1.3% higher at 25.68 levels. The BSE midcap index ended flat, while smallcap index gained 0.3 percent.