Sensex Up 150 Points, Nifty Above 8,550

The 50-share Nifty and Sensex were up nearly 0.50 per cent in late trade, buoyed by gains in ITC and banking stocks like ICICI Bank and SBI.

ITC, India's biggest cigarette maker, was the top Nifty gainer. The stock traded over 5 per cent higher on reports the government may not ban the sale of loose cigarettes, which account for 65 to 70 per cent of total cigarette sale in India. Other tobacco companies such as Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries also traded higher.

Among banking stocks, ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC were up between 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent.

In broader markets, Alok Industries jumped 12.5 per cent on heavy volumes. However, budget carrier SpiceJet, which had run up sharply on Monday, saw selling pressure and fell over 5 per cent.

Earlier, the Sensex jumped 350 points above the 28,800 mark and the Nifty gained over 85 points to a day high of 8,627 in morning trade. The gains came after three days of consolidation.

As of 3:08 pm, the Sensex was up 155 points to 28,598 while Nifty traded 36 points higher at 8,573. The broader markets also saw gains with the BSE midcap and smallcap indices up nearly 0.4 per cent.