The Sensex has finally ended (provisional) at 16,680 - up 225 points.
The Nifty has ended (provisional) up 71 points at 4,963.
_______________________________________________
(Updated at 1506 hrs)
The Sensex has exhibited firm trend throughout the day. The index is at its day's high of 16,666, up 212 points.
The NSE Nifty is now at 4,956, up 64 points.
Among the sectoral indices, BSE metal index has surged 3.5%. Auto and Bankex have gained 2.5% and 1.7%, respectively.
Tata Steel has jumped nearly 8% to Rs 529. Tata Motors has soared over 5.5% to Rs 601.
Hindalco has ssurged 4.5% to Rs 130. Hero Honda and Sterlite have rallied 3.5% each to Rs 1,672 and Rs 769, respectively.
SBI has gained over 3% to Rs 2,071. ICICI Bank has moved up nearly 3% to Rs 866.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Communications, Infosys, Grasim and ACC have advanced 1.5-2% each.
The market breadth is positive - out of 2,856 stocks, 1,514 have advanced, while 1,261 have declined.