Benchmark indices surge over 1% each in morning deals on broad based buying on account of strong stance taken by the Government on FDI in retail and aviation. The Sensex zoomed 262 points at 18,611 and the Nifty gained 85 points at 5,640.
The broader markets too advanced, gaining 1.3% each in line with the Sensex.
The sectors that generated maximum interest among the buyers were Capital Goods, Power, Bankex, Realty and Metal which saw an uptick of 2% each. Meanwhile, Oil & Gas was relatively flat with a 0.2% gain.
Among individual stocks, Geometric Ltd was up by 2.6% at Rs 119 on reports that ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has purchased stake in the company.
Essar Ports advanced 2.38% at Rs 88.10 after the company plans to refinance Rs 405 crore loans for its Hazira bulk terminal to save Rs 10 crore annually in interest cost.
Retail stocks continued the upmove with Pantaloon Retail gaining 7% along with Shoppers Stop which gained 2.6% and Trent rose 4.7%.
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(Updated at 9:17am)
Markets opened on a strong note with the Sensex up 103 points at 18,452 and the Nifty added 30 points to start at 5,584 on account of the gains in heavyweights like ICICI Bank, HDFC, Reliance Industries and L&T.
In the broader markets, the midcap and the smallcap index started up nearly 0.8% each outperforming the Sensex which gained nearly 0.7%
Asian shares and the euro steadied on Friday as markets consolidated after recent sharp moves triggered by central banks' stimulus steps, with weak data giving no clear signs about the likelihood of another steep downturn in growth or a solid pickup. Shanghai Composite, Hnag Seng, Nikkei were up 0.4-0.8%.
World stocks fell on Thursday as manufacturing reports from the euro zone, China and the United States showed factory activity remained lacklustre, evidence of sluggish growth globally.
According to technical analysts, the Nifty is likely to seek support around 5,535-5,525, while face resistance around 5,570-5,585.
All the sectoral indices started in the green. The top gainers in the opening trades were Capital Goods, Realty and Bankex indices up 1% each. Auto, Health Care, Power, PSU, FMCG and Consumer Durables indices up 0.6% were the other sectoral gainers.
ICICI Bank, BHEL, L&T and Bharti Airtel up 2% each were the top Sensex gainers. The other movers included SBI, Sterlite, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki up 1% each.
The only losers among the Sensex stocks were Jindal Steel, Tata Power, HDFC Bank and Gail India starting down 0.1-0.8%.
Among other stocks, Reliance Communications rose more than 4% at Rs 59 after the wireless carrier increased mobile phone call prices by about a quarter in four telecom zones.
The market breadth was positive. 895 stocks advanced while 184 stocks declined on the BSE.
