The BSE benchmark Sensex on Wednesday gained nearly 144 points in early trade on sustained buying by funds amid a firming Asian trend.
The 30-share barometer rose by 143.57 points, or 0.73% to 19,724.38 with all the sectoral indices, led by realty and metal, trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.25%. The index had gained 154.10 in Tuesday's trade.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 41.25 points, or 0.69%%, to 5,992.10.
Brokers said the sentiment remained strong on sustained inflows from foreign funds into equity market amid a firming trend in the Asian region as US poised to avert fiscal cliff.
Banking sector stocks continued their upward march on expectations of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India. Stocks of Bank of India gained 0.71%, State Bank of India shot up by 1.20%, while ICICI Bank up 0.91%.
In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 1.18%. The stock market in Japan is closed on Wednesday.
