India VIX, the volatility index also closed at day's low of 71.10, declining 8% 
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India VIX, the volatility index also closed at day's low of 71.10, declining 8% Sensex and Nifty extended gains for the third consecutive session on Thursday and ended near day's high, backed by buying in index heavyweights.
BSE 30-share barometer Sensex ended 1,410 points higher at 29,946 and NSE 50-share index Nifty closed at 8,641, rising 323 points.
IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Bajaj Finance were among the top gainers in the Sensex pack. On the other hand, ITC, Maruti and ONGC were the top losers.
Here's a look at 10 things to know about today's rally:
1. Market sentiments strengthened as government announced a series of measures to help the poor during the 21-day lockdown today. Commenting on the announcement made by FM today, S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities said,"The Rs 1.7 lakh crore package announced today prevents any possible retrenchment of workers as GOI is contributing the full 24% to the PF authorities and by stepping in with food grains prevents any kind of hoarding by middlemen. The DBT route ensures that the amount quickly reaches the people who need it the most."
2. Overseas trend turned positive as markets cheered US Senate passing $2 trillion coronavirus relief package. The Bill now heads to the House, which will push to pass it Friday by voice vote as most representatives are out of Washington. Following this, SGX Nifty traded 1.5% or 150 points higher at 8,469.
3. In major events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with leaders of G20 nations, (represents two-thirds of the world's population) will hold a virtual summit via video conferencing today, to work out a global plan to contain the highly contagious outbreak. G20 meet offers the best platform for countries to coordinate everything from medical supplies to monetary policies to cope with Covid-19 infection that has risen drastically, hurting major economies and disrupting supply chains.
4. Rally was led by index heavyweights such as IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. All indices traded majorly bullish today, with banking scrips gaining the most. While Nifty private banking ended 8% higher, Nifty bank and realty gained 6%, followed by a 5% rise in financials and 4% in FMCG. All other indices gained in the range of 1-3%. S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities said,"The market rally today was broad based led by short covering in financials accompanied by value buying across sectors. Dormant Retail Investors also are seen coming back to our markets seeing attractive valuations on several stocks which are clear signs of maturity".
5. India VIX, the volatility index also closed at day's low of 71.10, declining 8%. It has fallen by 14.8% to 72.6 in last two trading sessions from the high of 85.39, indicating less volatility in the market.
6. "Nifty has given the first sign of price breakout on the short term charts in today's session," suggested Daily report on the market by HDFC Securities. It added," Next resistance for Nifty is seen at 8,883, while support for the same is seen in the range of 8,000-8,050." Commenting on near term outlook of Nifty, Manav Chopra, CMT, Head Research - Equity, Indiabulls Securities said,"Once Nifty sustains above 8,300 for few more sessions, the rally will gather steam and expect further short covering & value buying which will propel the index higher. We continue to maintain our view of Nifty scaling towards 9,300-9,500 zone".
7. Markets have turned positive overseas as authorities worldwide step up efforts to fight the pandemic and announce financial stimulus. On Wednesday, indices extended gains for the second consecutive session and closed 7% higher. From the lows formed on Tuesday, the Nifty is up 10.46%. Commenting on Nifty's recovery, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said," It seems that the majority of the benefits announced is factored in the market given more than 15% bounce from the recent low. The recovery of the market will continue if strict lockdown system is implemented in the developed markets and number of new virus cases reduces."
8. Nationwide efforts to stem coronavirus have been quite strong, suggest analysts. The Indian government has placed travel restrictions relatively early and imposed lockdown-like restrictions much earlier than in many countries, which helped in containing the momentum of the virus spread. The 21-day lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed that the government is willing to take hard steps to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Motilal Oswal in its report suggested,"Although India was affected relatively late compared to some other countries, the government has been quick to implement a nation-wide lock-down for three weeks."
9. Globally, there are over 4.7 lakh confirmed cases and 21,283 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak. The number of infected cases in India has increased to 606, with 43 cases of recovery. The death toll from coronavirus in India has risen to 12 till Wednesday. Currently, India stands at the 40th place as compared to other nations.
10. In other positive cues, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased March 26 variable repo rate auction amount to Rs 50,000 crore from Rs 25,000 crore.
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