The Sensex has gained 235 points in the noon trade. The index opened 57 points up. This follows selective buying by cautious investors in the absence of any cues from other Asian markets.

In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index gained 67 points, to 5,450 points.

Asian markets are closed on account of a public holiday to mark the Lunar New Year. However, Japan’s Nikkei was open for trade and was marginally down in the early part of the session. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.02 per cent higher on Wednesday’s trade.