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Benchmark indices retreated from higher levels but continued to trade in the green zone led by by RIL, ICICI Bank.
Oil & gas behemoth Reliance Industries was last seen trading at Rs 1099 levels up almost 2% on the BSE, which along with other index heavyweights such as ITC, ICICI Bank, TCS, Larsen & Toubro pulled the benchmark Sensex 140 points higher.
At 14:57 PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 47 points at 24,348 levels and the 50-share Nifty was up 10 points at 7,269 levels.
The top gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, Sesa Sterlite and Tata Power, all gaining between 2.5-5%.
On the global front, Japanese stocks led a surge in Asian equities to a one-year high on Thursday, after an upbeat reading on China's factory sector burnished risk appetite and blunted some of the more pessimistic views on the world's second-biggest economy.
Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 266.22 crore on Wednesday, 21 May 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The finance ministry plans to propose a new plan for the incoming government to further fiscal consolidation. According to reports, the new plan which proposes to cut subsidies and welfare spending will reduce the current year's fiscal deficit and save Rs 25,000 crore in borrowing.
The yeilds on the benchmark 10 year g-secs eased by 5 basis points to 8.72% while rupee rebounded from lower levels to 58.48-a-dollar mark from its previous close of 58.51.
Equities were already on the front foot after minutes of the US Federal Reserve's last meeting reassured investors that policy makers will continue to support the economy, depressing the safe-haven yen.
Gains in jewellery stocks led the BSE consumer durables index almost 8% higher making it top gaining sector on Thursday. Nearly all sectors traded with gains; Real estate index was up 6% followed by power, metal, banks and oil & gas indices which are trading 1-2% higher.
Titan scrip cheered RBI’s move to ease curbs on gold import (allowed gold on lease and star/premier trading houses to import gold under the 80:20 rule) on Thursday and surged 12% to a new 52-week high of Rs 347.65.
Shares of state run Coal India, the world's biggest coal miner, hit their highest level in nearly three years on Thursday after on speculation that PM-elect Narendra Modi, was exploring breaking up the company and opening up the sector for foreign investment. It is trading at Rs 397.20 up almost 7% higher on the BSE.
Ramco Industries edged over 2% higher at Rs 55.55 after posting its earnings results for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. Itr posted a drop of 61% in net profit at Rs 24.99 crore for the quarter as against Rs 64.15 crore for the corresponding quarter ended last year. The total income from operations saw an increase of 2.88 per cent at Rs 985.09 crore for the quarter, as compared to Rs 957.54 crore for the same period of previous year.
