The Sensex opened with a huge positive gap of 136 points at 16,829 on the back of strong cues from global markets. The index touched a high of 16,896 - up 203 points. The Sensex is now up 173 points at 16,866.
The NSE Nifty is up 48 points at 5,007.
Sun Pharma has rallied 4% to Rs 1,360. Bharti AIrtel has gained 2.5% at Rs 425.
ICICI Bank has added 2% to Rs 856. Infosys, Hindalco, TCS, DLF, Wipro and Reliance have advanced over 1% each.