The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was trading positively today after sliding from opening highs.

The Sensex, which belled the day at 18,234.85, was trading 33.74 points up at 18,251.18 as against its last closure at 18,217.44.

The broad-based Nifty stood at 5,474.1, up 0.11%.

The BSE midcap index gained 0.51% and the BSE smallcap index surged 0.68%.

Realty, IT, and auto scrips were seeing buying activity, whereas oil and power scrips witnessed some selling.

The overall market breadth remained optimistic as it saw 1,758 advancements as against 1,055 declinations.

Other Asian stock exchanges belled on a strong note, following gains at Wall Street on Wednesday.

Better-than-expected statistics on US manufacturing in last month together with sturdy indications of recovery in the Euro zone strengthened overall reactions.

However, some stock markets pared the early profits as trading advanced.

The Japanese Nikkei ended at 9,653.92, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng remained unaltered.

The Chinese Shanghai Composite index was down, trading 0.5% down at 2,624.04 points.

The South Korean Kospi ended the day 0.3% down at 1,783.86.