The BSE benchmark Sensex bounced back smartly by 235 points on Wednesday, with heavyweights RIL and Infosys leading the gains on frantic buying by fund houses amid firm global cues and impressive GDP growth.
     
Shrugging off slower export growth in July, the 30-share barometer of the Bombay Stock Exchange ended the day higher by 234.75 points, or 1.31 per cent, at 18,205.87.
     
The National Stock Exchange's wide-based 50-share Nifty Index added 1.29 per cent to finish at 5,471.85.
     
Analysts said the investor sentiment turned buoyant globally after data showed China's manufacturing grew at a faster pace in August and Australia's economy grew more than economists estimated in the second quarter.
     
Aggressive buying was seen across sectors, especially in metal, real estate, telecom and IT.
     
"Firm global cues and bargain hunting helped the market to recover smartly," Unicon Financial CEO Gajendra Nagpal said.
     
Snapping its seven-day losing streak, Reliance Industries Ltd increased by 2.14 per cent to settle at Rs 938.55.
     
"RIL's fundamentals are strong, through the scrip has been under-performing for some time. Today's rise may be attributed to buying at lower levels," Nagpal added.
     
Infosys, which carries the maximum weight in the Sensex after RIL, climbed 2.43 per cent. TCS moved up 1.65 per cent and Wipro 0.64 per cent.
     
IT counters attracted buying, as positive data from the US helped alleviate continued investor anxiety over the world's largest economy's strength, analysts said.
     
Telecom stocks were on a high, after the government allocated 3G spectrum to operators. Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications zoomed 5 per cent, the most in the Sensex pack.
     
The country's top telecom operator Bharti Airtel, too, rose by 3 per cent.
     
Metal stocks were shining on Dalal Street on Wednesday, with Hindalco gaining 4.51 per cent, Sterlite 3.47 per cent and Tata Steel 2.84 per cent. Jindal Steel rose 1.66 per cent.      

Brokers said investor confidence improved after impressive 8.8 per cent GDP growth in the June quarter.
     
In the BSE-30 scrips, 26 firms settled with gains, while four stocks lagged behind and ended in the red.
     
Barring China which finished down by 0.50 per cent, other Asian stocks ended higher. Key indices from Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan closed up by about 0.43 per cent and 1.26 per cent.
     
European markets were trading higher in their late morning deals. The CAC was up by 1.50 per cent, the DAX by 0.43 per cent and the FTSE by 1.09 per cent. US stock index futures, too, indicated a firm opening on Wall Street.