Mumbai, Sep 15 - A key index of Indian equities markets, which opened higher Tuesday on strong global cues, retained the momentum throughout the trading session and ended 240 points up from its previous closing.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened higher at 16,255.42 points, closed at 16,454.66 points (provisional), up 240.47 points or 1.48 percent.

Similarly, the Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also ended in the positive zone at 4,892.5 points, up 1.74 percent from the last close.

Broader market indices also made gains, with the BSE midcap index closing 1.78 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index up 1.32 percent.