The BSE benchmark Sensex on Wednesday rallied by 284 points in early trade to regain the 20,000 level on persistent buying, mainly in banking, realty, capital goods and auto sectors as a steep fall in headline inflation triggered hopes for a rate cut by RBI.

The 30-share barometer opened higher at 19,798.18 and advanced further to 20,010.56 before quoting at 20,006.75 at 1030hrs, showing a sharp gain of 284.46 points of 1.44 per cent from its last close.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also rose by 86.10 points or 1.44 per cent to 6,081.50 at 1030hrs. Higher advices from international markets, coupled with sustained capital inflows from foreign funds, also boosted the market sentiment.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 420.99 crore as per provisional data from exchanges. Major gainers were HDFC (3.34 per cent), SBI (2.65 per cent), Tata Motors (2.48 per cent), Hindalco Ind (2.28 per cent) and HDFC Bank (2.08 per cent.

Asian shares rose in their early trade with Japan’s Nikkei Average surging to a fresh 5-1/2 year high as Japanese exporters rallied on the yen’s sharp slide. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore rose by 0.1 per cent to 2.16 per cent while indices in China and South Korea fell by 0.03 per cent to 0.11 per cent.

US stocks rallied to record highs Tuesday continuing an ascent driven by the Federal Reserve’s easy monetary policy