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.

Amid a cautious start, Indian equities continued to trade positively but on a flat note.

Global signals are fairly positive and there are expectations that the government will shortly declare a strong stimulus package to boost up the financial system.

Realty, consumer goods and banking stocks went up, whereas consumer durables and metal stocks turned down.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap index gained 0.65% and 0.61% respectively.

Tokyo - Markets in Japan opened stronger Thursday, following positive signals from Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 49.34 points, or 0.62 per cent to 8053.44 at mid-trading, also carried up by speculation over a possible merger of Nippon Oil Corp and Nippon Mining Holdings. The broader Topix index rose by 0.1 per cent to 799.96.

On currency markets at midday (0300 GMT) the dollar was quoted at 93.11-16 yen, down from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 93.30-32 yen.

Washington  - US stock indices made gains Wednesday amid a rise in internet retail sales and a record increase in weekly mortgage applications overshadowed more news of a weakening economy.

Research firm ComScore said purchases over the internet increased 15 per cent on Monday - typically considered a big sales day after the Thanksgiving holiday - from the same day a year earlier. The news spurred gains in retailers that will be relying on strong holiday intakes over the coming month.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the cross margining facility for all categories of market participants. It was earlier extended it only to the institutional trades. The move would help to satisfy the financial needs of various broking firms, as cost of working capital has risen sharply in the past few months.

Beijing  - Chinese stocks r