Indian markets ended the session on Wednesday with a gain of about 0.5 per cent on continued buying by funds and retail investors on firm global cues.
The BSE Sensex was up 109.44 points (0.57 per cent) at 19,252.61 and the NSE Nifty was up 34.35 points (0.59 per cent) at 5,818.60.
Except FMCG and consumer durables, all other BSE sectoral indices ended in the green.
Realty sector gained the most with the sectoral index being up by 4.52 per cent on hopes of a rate cut announcement by the RBI in its upcoming monetary policy. Capital Goods index was up 2.47 per cent, metal 2.2 per cent and IT 1.32 per cent.
On the other hand, FMCG index was down 1.05 per cent and consumer durables 0.44 per cent.
“Asian stocks rose to their highest levels in two years following a surge in US shares to a record on improved service industry growth and expectations of further stimulus from central banks,” said a report from SMC Global.
Asian shares were up tracking overnight gains in global equities, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending at an all-time high and the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closing at its highest in 4-1/2 years.
The improved US services sector growth in February boosted the investor sentiment while China's announcement of record government spending in 2013 buoyed the hopes of economic growth and demand for goods.
In the Asian trade, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 248.82 points or 2.13 per cent at 11,932.27, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 204.44 points or 0.91 per cent at 22,764.94.
European stocks advanced, after the region’s benchmark gauge rallied to the highest level in 4 1/2 years on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the 30-share key Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up to 14,239.68 points in the first hour of trading. This was the highest-ever level scaled by the blue chip index and also for the first time since the 2008 financial meltdown.
The broader S&P 500 jumped to 1,537.25 points while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite went up to 3,212.36 points.