Sensex closes at 1-1/2 month highs; banks rally

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex rose over 1 percent on Thursday to close at its highest in 1-1/2 months after Axis Bank surged on better-than- expected June-quarter results sparking rally in other banking stocks as well.

Axis Bank provisionally rose 4.03 percent, while HDFC Bank ended 3 percent higher.

The Sensex provisionally gained 1.02 percent, while the Nifty ended up 1.08 percent, marking their second consecutive session of gains.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)