The 30-share Sensex opened at 17,896.84, lower than the previous close of 17,905.91, and dropped to a low of 17,759.59. Value buying saw the index recover and touch the day's high of 18,349.82 before it closed at 18,312.94, a gain of 407.03 points, or 2.27 per cent.
The biggest gain for the index in almost two months helped investors become richer by Rs 1.17 lakh crore. The index had gained 519.86 points on June 28.
"Global cues provided needed respite to our domestic bourses amid further weakness in rupee," said Jayant Manglik, president retail distribution at Religare Securities Ltd. "With better-than-expected manufacturing numbers from China, metal stocks outshone other pivots by strong margins."
The Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange surged by 105.90 points, or 2 per cent, to 5,408.45. The SX40 index on the MCX-SX added 199.44 points to 10,817.88.
ITC, Reliance Industries, ONGC and TCS contributed a combined 184.46 points to the gains in the Sensex, which tumbled yesterday to the lowest level in more than 11 months.
The rupee today touched an all-time intra-day low of 65.56 before recovering to quote at 64.82 in late afternoon trade.