Mumbai, Nov. 11 -- The key equity benchmarks ended with moderate gains on Wednesday as investors remained cautious despite easing crude oil prices from elevated levels and sustained foreign fund inflows. The Nifty began the session on a firm footing and advanced to an intraday high of 25,424.35 in early trade. However, profit booking at higher levels dragged the indices off their day's highs, with the Nifty eventually settled above the 25,250 mark.

PSU Bank, auto and private bank shares advanced while IT, realty and pharma stocks declined.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 772.75 points or 0.95% to 81,879.40. The Nifty 50 index rose 210.40 points or 0.84% to 25,255.05.

In the broader mark...