MUMBAI: Indian equity markets surged on Thursday as positive global cues, rupee appreciation and value buying buoyed investors' sentiments.

Besides, positive global indices, stimulus hopes from the European Central Bank (ECB) in its upcoming monetary policy review, and commercial banks reducing lending rates enhanced the risk-taking appetite.

The key Indian indices provisionally closed with substantial gains -- more than 1.5  pct each -- as healthy buying was witnessed in all the 19 sub-indices of the BSE, led by automobile, banking and metal stocks.

The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) gained by 144.80 points or 1.79  pct to 8,246.85 points. 

Similarly, the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 26,366.52 points, provisionally closed at 26,694.28 points (at 3.30 p.m.) -- up 457.41 points or 1.74  pct from the previous close at 26,236.87 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 26,733.87 points and a low of 26,357.35 points during the intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls -- with 1,820 advances and 823 declines.

On Wednesday, the equity markets slipped after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to keep its key lending rates unchanged in its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy of 2016-17.

The barometer index was down 155.89 points or 0.59  pct, while the NSE Nifty edged down by 41.10 points or 0.50  pct.

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