The BSE benchmark surged 318.74 points or 0.42 per cent to reach 77,042.82, after touching an intraday peak of 77,319.50, marking a rise of 595.42 points or 0.77 per cent.

Markets in India are expected to open higher following a strong showing on Wall Street after a lower-than-expected core inflation reading there

Indian benchmark indices rose for a third straight session on Thursday, driven by gains in financial heavyweights and Reliance Industries. Eased U.S. inflation in December boosted hopes of further rate cuts by the U.

The biggest Sensex gainers included Adani Ports, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, Airtel and Tata Motors while losers were HCL Tech, Nestle Infosys, HUL and ITC

Highlights:Among the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 ended with gains of 0.41 per cent and 0.56 per cent, respectively

BSE Sensex and Nifty50, the Indian equity benchmark indices, closed in green on Wednesday. While BSE Sensex was above 76,700, Nifty50 was over 23,200.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex started on Thursday on a positive note, recording their third consecutive day of gains. Investor sentiment was lifted by December's cooler-than-expected US inflation data,

The stock market seems to be continuing its rally for the third consecutive day by opening in the green on Thursday.