The Sensex on Thursday soared by 488 points in opening trade on the back of a flurry of buying by funds and investors after RBI announced a slew of measures to revive the economy amid further recovery in the rupee.

The 30-share index gained 488.19 points, or 2.19 percent, to trade at 19,055.74, with all sectoral indices trading in the positive zone rising up to 7.53 percent.

Banking, realty, capital goods and consumer durables stocks were leading gainers. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 153.80 points, or 2.82 percent, to trade at 5,601.90.

Brokers said sentiments turned buoyant after new RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan yesterday came out with a slew of measures, including more trade settlement in rupees to rescue the battered financial markets.

Rajan also hinted at a shift in focus from inflation control, doggedly pursued by his predecessor, to boosting growth. Brokers said further recovery in the rupee also supported the upside in equities. The rupee gained 138 paise against dollar to 65.69 in early trade.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.95 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei was up by 0.61 per cent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.65 per cent higher on Wednesday.

Meanwhile the rupee trimmed its early gains against the US currency but was still up by 62 paise at 66.45 a dollar amidst sharp rise in equity markets. The rupee had gained 138 paise in opening trade to touch 65.69 level but lost momentum in late morning deals due to some dollar demand.

The domestic currency was still up by 62 paise at 66.45 a dollar against last closing level of 67.07 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market.

Weakness in dollar in the overseas market and latest RBI measures to support the rupee boosted the value of domestic currency, a forex dealer said.

To support the rupee, new RBI governor R Rajan on Wednesday announced steps, such as liberalisation of the financial market by enhancing the limits for exporters to re-book cancelled forward exchange contracts and opening a special concessional window for swapping foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) deposits and dollar funds.

In New York market, the US dollar edged lower against some rivals yesterday as investors avoided big moves ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday and the US jobs report on Friday.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex was trading higher by 428.13 points, or 2.31 percent, at 18,995.68 points.