An evening walk down Dalal Street on December 13, 2018

Benchmark indices continued to gain for third consecutive session on Thursday, but ended off day's high amid volatility. The consistent uptrend in rate sensitive stocks on hope of a rate cut after falling retail inflation, and positive Asian cues lifted sentiment.

"Benign CPI inflation at 2.3 percent, supported an improvement in RBI's current stance of ‘calibrated tightening’. Additionally, pick-up in industrial production at 8.1 percent supported the continuation of the rally," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 150.57 points to close at 35,929.64 after hitting 36,000 levels in early trade.

The 50-share NSE Nifty failed to hold 10,800 levels, where generally technical experts expect some amount of profit booking. The index closed 53.90 points higher at 10,791.50.