Brokers said the sentiment got a lift largely in tandem with a rebound in global markets ahead of a crucial congressional vote on US healthcare reform later in the day.
After opening higher at 29,201.01 points, the Sensex advanced to hit a high of 29,373.79 in day trade. It, however, pared some of the gains due to profit-booking towards the close and finally settled at 29,332.16, up by 164.48 points or 0.56 per cent.
The NSE Nifty also moved up 55.85 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 9,086.30 after shuttling between 9,099.05 and 9,048.60.
Buying activity was so strong that all the sectoral indices except FMCG ended in the green, rising up to l.21 per cent.
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Tata Motors was the biggest among Sensex scrips, rising by 2.59 per cent. GAIL, NTPC and Wipro too rose up to 2.39 per cent.
Tracking overall trends, the broader markets were also in better shape with the mid-cap surging 0.96 per cent and the small-cap index rising 0.79 per cent.
FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Lever lost up to 1 per cent.