Benchmark indices have extended their rally on the back of positive economic developments amid positive global cues.

At 1.40 PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 401 points at 27,111 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 121 points at 8,151.

Hindalco, BHEL, GAIL, Tata Power and Sesa Sterlite are up between 3.5-4.5% on the BSE.

-_______________________________(updated at 12.40 PM)Benchmark indices continue to trade firm tracking global along with buying in auto, banks and metal shares leading the gains.At 12:40PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 284 points at 26,994 and the 50-share Nifty was up 85 points at 8,115.BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained between 2-3%. The market breadth in BSE remains healthy with 1,935 shares advancing and 558 shares declining.On the sectoral front, BSE Consumer Durables index has zoomed by almost 5% followed by counters like Capital Goods, Power, Auto, Banks, Realty and Metal, all gaining between 1-3%.The main gainers on the Sensex are GAIL, BHEL, Hindalco, Tata Power, ICICI Bank, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki and NTPC.. . . . . . . . ***Updated at 11:10Benchmark indices have trimmed some of the early gains as losses in select index heavyweights like, HDFC and Reliance have kept the gains capped at higher levels.At 11:10AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 214 points at 26,914 and the 50-share Nifty was up 59 points at 8,088.Firmness in select Asian peers and a strong rebound in US which gained on positive statements by Federal Reserve have boosted investors’ sentiments.Progress on big-ticket policy reforms, with the cabinet approving the Constitutional Amendment Bill on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) has also been received positively by traders.In the broader market, both BSE midcap and smallcap indices, have performed better than the front-liners with gains of over 2% each. Market breadth in BSE is positive with 1,792 advances against 394 declines.The rupee is trading at 63.27 versus Wednesday's close of 63.61.

Traders expect the Indian unit to hold in a 63.10-63.50 range. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in Indian equities worth Rs 1,636.36 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data. Buzzing Stocks All the 12 sectors of BSE are in the green. BSE Consumer Durables index, up around 4% each has gained the most followed by BSE Power, up nearly 2%, BSE Bankex, Capital goods and Realty indices, up around 2% each. ICICI Bank gained around 2.5%. The bank was in news after being penalised by RBI for violating KYC and anti-laundering norms. ITC has gained around 1%. According to media reports, tobacco will be covered under Goods and Services Tax. SBI has gained around 2% as PSU banks have extended their gains from yesrerday. According to Moody's Investors Service, the ability to raise private capital that dilutes the government’s stake is credit positive for undercapitalized public-sector banks because government resources to recapitalize the banks are limited. Tata Motors has gained over 2%. According to media reports, Tata Motors is in the process of developing vehicles for the defence sector, which are capable of carrying weapons. Tata Steel has gained around 3%. The Odisha government has allowed the steel major to resume mining from four key iron ore mines in the state. Cipla has gained around 2%. The Delhi High Court has reserved its verdict on a dispute between pharma firms Novartis and Cipla over manufacturing of the drug Indacaterol, used for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Coal India has gained around 1% after paring early losses . All the five trade unions of the company - which has a work force of 3,50,000 - have served a notice declaring their intention to go on strike from January 6 through January 10. Power Grid Corporation has declined around 1%. The government has awarded it a critical power transmission corridor project, connecting power-starved southern states to thermal power rich, western India. This has been done by "nomination", shunning private sector investment through an auction. Companies in the race for the project are irked at this 'unlawful' move. Reliance Power, Tata Power, Sterlite Energy, Lanco and Larsen & Toubro were planning to bid for this project.