Sensex tops 44,000 mark, ends 195 points higher; Nifty above 12,900

A strengthening rupee further boosted investor confidence, traders said.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 128.70 points or 1 per cent to close above the 13,000-mark for the first time at 13,055.15.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 195 points, or 0.44 per cent to settle at 44,077 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 12,926, up 67 points, or 0.52 per cent.

HDFC Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 1.60%, followed by Maruti, ONGC, Axis Bank, L&T, Titan, ICICI Bank and PowerGrid.

While TVS Motor Company (down 1.28 per cent), MRF (down 1.02 per cent), Balkrishna Industries (down 0.79 per cent), Bharat Forge (down 0.65 per cent) and Ashok Leyland (down 0.38 per cent) were the top losers in the index. "We believe improved prospects of strong corporate earnings should continue to attract foreign participation in Indian equities, which bodes well for markets", said Binod Modi, Head- Strategy at Reliance Securities.

The sectoral indices that kept the market firm were Bankex, Auto, Realty, Finance and FMCG stocks.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices jumped up to 1.37 per cent.

The rupee appreciated 10 paise to close at 74.01 against the United States dollar on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading in with gains in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the red.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,738.44 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.64 per cent to United States dollars 45.81 per barrel.