Shares of ITC, which carries the biggest weight in 30-share Sensex, rose by 5.44 per cent on hopes that a proposal to ban sale of loose cigarettes will be put on hold.
The rise in ITC scrips neutralised the effect of the fall in bluechips like Infosys, RIL, L&T, Bharti Airtel, M&M and Hindalco, traders said, adding that rise in HDFC Bank, HDFC, SBI, Cipla and Sesa Sterlite helped the Sensex cement gains.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 391.07 crore yesterday as per provisional data.
The BSE Sensex resumed higher at 28,616.93 and shot up further to a high 28,808.78 on initial strong buying. It, however, declined afterwards to 28,448.95 before ending at 28,562.82, a gain of 120.11 points or 0.42 per cent.
The CNX 50-share Nifty today rose by 26.75 points, or 0.31 per cent, to close at 8,564.40 after hitting a historic high of 8,626.95 during the early trade. It bettered its lifetime high of 8,623 hit on December 1.
Besides global stimulus talk, Asian stock markets tracked fresh signs of resilience in the US economy. The Shanghai Composite index jumped by 4.31 per cent while other indices like Singapore, Hong kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea ended higher by gaining 0.04 per cent to 1.72 per cent.