The benchmark BSE Sensex today closed 148 points up at 27,957.50 after briefly staying above the psychological 28K-level on better-than-estimated corporate earnings and firm Asian cues.
Similarly, the broader 50-issue CNX Nifty rallied to a high of 8,489.55, just ten points shy from 8,500-mark, before settling at 8,458.95.
IT, pharma, capital goods, refinery and tech counters attracted heavy buying while shares of consumer durable, banking, realty and metal sectors witnessed profit-booking.
The 30-share barometer moved in a range of 28,071.16 and 27,828.61 before ending at 27,957.50 -- a level not seen since April 17, 2015 when it had settled at 28,442.10 -- showing a rise of 148.15 points or 0.53 per cent.
HDFC was the top gainer from the 30-share Sensex pack with a rise of 2.51 per cent while TCS came in second with a surge of 2.42 per cent.
Shares of banking giant SBI reacted downwards after initial smart gains on profit-booking despite the lender reporting better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings.
SBI today reported 23 per cent jump in standalone net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2015 at Rs 3,742.02 crore on improvement in asset quality.
Meanwhile, on a weekly basis, the Sensex shot up by 633.80 points, or 2.32 per cent, completing three weeks of gaining streak.
On the overseas front, Asian stocks finished strong following record closing of S&P 500 on Wall Street yesterday with prospects for a Federal Reserve rate hike in June all but quashed. Key indices from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan finished higher between 0.30 pct and 2.83 pct.
European markets, however, were trading lower in their late morning deals. The CAC was down by 0.33 pct and the DAX by 0.25 pct while the FTSE was trading up by 0.39 pct.
Mr. Jignesh Chaudhary, Head of Research, Veracity Broking Services said,"Local indices trade higher on the investors? confidence and closed on a positive note. Indices added almost half percent during the day as the blue chip companies traded higher on value buying with well supported from strong Asian market."
Overall, 17 out of 30 sensex-based components closed with gains while 12 others finished with losses and ICICI Bank held stable. Other major gainers were Sun Pharma 2.29 pct, ONGC 1.53 pct, Larsen 1.04 pct, BHEL 0.71 pct, Tata Motors 0.66 pct and Reliance Ind 0.64 pct.
However, SBIN dropped by 2.38 pct followed by Hindalco 1.30 pct, VEDL 067 pct, Wipro 0.66 pct and Tata Power 0.59 pct.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, IT rose by 0.91 pct, HC 0.86 pct, CG 0.78 pct and Teck 0.60 pct while CD fell by 0.68 pct, Bankex 0.42 pct and Realty 0.25 pct.
Total market breadth remained negative as 1,518 stocks closed lower, 1,197 finished higher and 119 ruled steady.
The total turnover fell to Rs 3,023.93 crs from Rs 3,724.66 crs yesterday.
