Indian equities markets rose smartly on Friday, a day after the Christmas break, with a key index rising about 100 points and holding on to those levels at noon.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was trading at 9,669.44 points Friday around noon, a rise of 100.72 points or 1.05 percent from its previous close of 9,568.72 points.
Top gainers at the Sensex were Satyam Computer - which seemed attractive to investors at the current valuations - and Reliance Infra.
The broader-based S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also rose and at the same time was trading at 2,952.2 points, about 36 points or 1.23 percent higher than Wednesday's close.
Market indices like the midcap index of the BSE also gained 1.43 percent from Wednesday's close while the smallcap index was up 0.88 percent.
US markets remained closed Thursday on Christmas. On Friday, other Asian markets were a mixed bag with the Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, rising 1.34 percent.
However, the Hang Seng, a key index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, fell 0.26 percent.