The benchmark Sensex rose by over 146 points in the opening trade on Friday on buying by foreign funds ahead of an interim Railways Budget.
The Bombay Stock Exchange barometer gained 146.83 points at 9,612.66 points with the steel, cement, realty and banking stocks leading the recovery. The 30-share index had lost 152.71 points in the previous session.
The broader National Stock Exchange Nifty soared by 46.35 points to 2,939.40.
Marketmen said buying activity emerged on expectations of a cut in freight rates in an interim Railway Budget, due at 11 am today.
They said major players were seen enlarging their positions ahead of interim Budget on Monday, which may unveil a stimulus plan to revive economy.
Firming trends on the other Asian stock markets also influenced the trading sentiments on the domestic markets.
Among major gainers, Tata Steel was up 2.10 per cent at Rs 189.35, while copper manufacturer Sterlite Industries shares gained 1.80 per cent at Rs 273.80.
Cement major ACC rose by 2.15 per cent to Rs 561 while Grasim Industries moved up by 1.86 per cent to Rs 1,374.25.
BSE bellwether Reliance Industries surged by 1.69 per cent to Rs 1,374.50, Reliance Infra by 2.64 per cent at Rs 564.50, RCom by 1.42 per cent at Rs 174.90, State Bank of India by 1.58 per cent at Rs 1,177.80, ICICI Bank by 2.54 per cent at Rs 432 and HDFC Bank by 1.64 per cent at Rs 947.
Buying activity was also seen in mid- and small-cap company stocks.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 2.01 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei advanced by 1.87 per cent in early trade.
