The markets have gained further ground are trading near the day''s high. Energy stocks continue to hog the limelight and are among the top gainers. The breadth is also positive as the midcap and smallcap indices have outperformed the benchmark indices. Oil & gas sstocks like ONGC, GAIL are up and power stocks like NTPC, Tata Power have surged. Pharma stocks are also trading smart on the bourses.

IT stocks are under pressure due to ongoing appreciation in the rupee. Banking stocks are down on the speculation that RBI may hike CRR in near future. Select metal stocks are also down.

At 15.10 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 84.28 points or 0.49% at 17375.38, and the Nifty up 50.65 points or 1.01% at 5072.00.

About 1856 shares have advanced, 1115 shares declined, and 62 shares are unchanged.

NTPC, ONGC, Reliance Communication, Tata Power and GAIL were among the major gainers on the indices.

SBI, BHEL, HCL Tech and ITC were among the top losers on the indices.

Select auto stocks have recovered from its lows today on the back of good auto sales numbers in the month of September. Hero Honda''s September sales was at 3.14 lakh units versus 2.4 lakh (MoM). Bajaj Auto sep sales was at 2.32 lk units vs 1.96 lk (MoM). Maruti and TVS has also announced good numbers today.

Most active shares on NSE are Reliance Energy at Rs 1,306 with 3,616,260 shares, Reliance Natural at Rs 93 with 26,717,638 shares and Reliance at Rs 2,266.70 with 959,697 shares.

Asian markets were trading higher. Japan''s Nikkei gained 0.39% or 65.66 points at 16,851.35, Taiwan''s Taiwan Weighted rose 0.53% or 49.98 points at 9,526.50, Singapore''s Straits Times surged 1.39% or 51.45 points at 3,757.68 and South Korea''s Seoul Composite advanced 1.05% or 20.51 points at 1,966.99.