Indian equities continued to gain momentum on the back of heavy buying action witnessed across all sectors.

Mirroring the sharp increase in values of key stocks in this space, the BSE Realty index gained 10%. Capital goods, oil, power, bank and metal stocks also rallied smartly.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap rose 1.98% and 1.38% respectively.

At 02.25 p.m., the 30-share index Sensex stood at 8,993.39, up 245.96 points, after hitting a high of 8,997.36 and a low of 8,726.71.

Meanwhile the broad based Nifty gained 96.90 points at 2,753.35 after touching a high of 2,756.45 and a low of 2,646.35.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex opened with a gain of 31.59 points, at 8,779.02.

Overall market breadth was positive. Out of the total 2,084 shares traded at BSE, 1,327 advanced, 681 declined while 76 remained unchanged.

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Tata Motors (8.33%), Jaiprakash Associates (7.29%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (5.75%), ICICI Bank (5.29%), Reliance Industries (5.18%), and Reliance Energy (4.62%).

On the other hand, Hindalco Industries (1.76%), and Hindustan Unilever (0.39%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.