Markets ended higher on Thursday led by auto shares on the back of robust October sales.
The 30-share Sensex ended up 56 points at 18,562 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 23 points at 5,642.
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Updated at 14:37Hrs)
Markets have extended the noon gains with the Sensex up 54 points at 18,558 and the Nifty added 21 points at 5,640.
The broader markets too advanced with the smallcap and the midcap indices adding 0.8% each.
Among the sectors, Consumer Durables extended gains, up over 5% followed by Auto, Realty, Health Care and Power adding 1% each. On the other hand, FMCG and Oil & Gas indices continued to remain in the negative, down nearly 0.7% each.
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(Updated at 13:10 hrs)
After a flat morning, markets have moved into the positive territory on the back of gains in Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and Wipro. At 13 hrs, the Sensex was up 35 points at 18,540 and the Nifty added 13 points at 5,633.
In the broader markets, the midcap and the smallcap indices gained 0.6% each, outperforming the Sensex which was up marginally at 0.1%.
Major Asian shares indices were trading with gains on Thursday after China October PMI increased to 50.2 in October from 49.8 September indicating expansion in manufacturing activity. The Nikkei was up 0.1% as investors booked profits after yesterday's rally. Shanghai Composite was up 1.7% and Hang Seng was up 0.6%.
Meanwhile, India'a manufacturing growth inched up in October from September's 10-month low, supported by a pickup in new orders and an easing of price pressures, a survey released on Thursday showed.
The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), which gauges the business activity of India's factories but not its utilities, nudged up to 52.9 in October from 52.8 in September.
Among the sectoral indices, Consumer Durables, Auto, Health care and Realty advanced 1-4% while FMCG, Oil&Gas and Metal remained in the red, losing 0.1-0.8%.
Tata Motors, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki up 1-4% were the top gainers among the Sensex-30.
On the losing side were FMCG majors like Hindustan Unilever and ITC lsoing 1-2% along with ONGC, Hindalco, Sterlite, Reliance Industries down 0.6-1%.
In individual stocks, Thangamayil Jewellery rallied 12% to Rs 283, also its record high, after the company said it is opening its 23rd branch at Thirunelveli tomorrow. The showroom is spread across 2970 square feet.
Godrej Properties soared 6% to Rs 615 after reporting better than expected 74% year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 33 crore for the second quarter ended September 2012 on back of higher operational income.
The market breadth was positive. 1477 stocks advanced while 1051 stocks declined on the BSE.