The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by 187 points to a 16-month high in opening trade on Wednesday as foreign funds bought shares driven by reports of advance tax payments by some big corporate houses and firming global markets.
The 30-share BSE barometer shot up by 187.99 points to 16,642.44 points with most of the heavyweight stocks quoting in positive territory. The Sensex had rallied over 240 points in Tuesday's trading.
The wide-based National Stock index Nifty crossed 4,900-points level for the first time in almost 16 months. The Nifty rose by 57.75 points to 4,949.85 points, a level last seen on May 29, 2008.
Brokers said buying activity in the domestic markets picked up momentum after reports of advance tax payments by some corporates, indicating revival in the economy.
Firming trends in global markets after better-than-expected US economic data too boosted the trading sentiments here, they said. Major gainers were Reliance Industries, Larsen and Toubro, BHEL, Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank.
Japan's Nikkei was up 1.58 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.64 per cent in the morning trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.58 per cent higher on Tuesday.
{{/usCountry}}Japan's Nikkei was up 1.58 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.64 per cent in the morning trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.58 per cent higher on Tuesday.
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