The market breadth was positive, with 1,457 stocks on the rise, compared to 699 on the decline, while 87 remained unchanged.

All the 30 stocks on the Sensex were on the gainers list. Prominent among them were M&M, up 4.16 percent at Rs.771.70; Maruti Suzuki, up 3.77 percent at Rs.1,350; Hero Honda, up 3.56 percent at Rs.1,407.50, and Grasim Industries, up 3.31 percent at Rs.2,547.

Other Asian markets were trading positive as well, with the Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, ending 179.41 points higher at 10,383.41 points, 1.76 percent up from its previous close.

At the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the main index was ruling up 3.6 percent, while the primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hang Seng, was ruling in the green at 20,336.36 points, up 382.13 points or 1.92 percent.