Indian stock markets belled the day on a positive note today.

At 9:30 a. m., the 30-share index Sensex gained 163.19 points to trade at 18,385.86 and the Nifty surged 43.45 points at 5,506.60.

All the scrips on the Sensex were in green, with JP Associates and Reliance Infra adding over 2% each.

Hindalco and ITC scrips were trading on a flat note.

Among the sectoral indices, auto, real estate, metal and capital goods topped the gainers chart, each surging by over a per cent.

Independent Investment Advisor Sanjeev Bhasin projected a range-bound trading in the near term.

"Markets have factored in most of the negative news flow," he added.

Mr. Bhasin expects Nifty at 5350-5400 on the downside and 5600 on the upside.

On the broader markets, both small- and mid-cap scrips were ruling in the positive terrian.

Asian bourses remained mixed in the early trading hours today.

The stock markets in Hong Kong and Japan added some gains, while Chinese and Indonesian bourses trimmed some gains.