"sensex"

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 978.37 crore on a net basis on Thursday.

The 30-share index was trading 452.15 points or 1.13 per cent higher at 40,331.10, and the NSE Nifty soared 117.50 points or 1 per cent to 11,856.35.

Other prominent gainers included Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank.

The Indian currency opened at 73.16 at the interbank forex market and touched an intra-day high of 73.08 and a low of 73.41 against the greenback.