Sensex rallies past 18,000, closes 353 points up

A benchmark index for Indian equities markets Wednesday rallied strongly to close 353 points higher and above the 18,000-mark, a level unseen in the past six months.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 18,000.3 points and closed at 18,183.86 points (provisional), 335.29 points or 1.88 percent up from its previous close at 17,848.57 points.

The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange, too, closed higher at 5,525.5 points, up 109.45 points or 2.02 percent from its previous closing.

Broader markets were also in the green, with the BSE 500 index ending 2 percent up. The BSE midcap index was up 2.07 percent while the BSE smallcap index gained 1.29 percent.

Realty, auto and capital goods stocks were among the major gainers.