Mumbai, Dec 30 (IANS) A key Indian equities index Thursday managed to hang on to morning gains on the last trading day of the year and was ruling 149 points higher around noon.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,365.37 points and at 12.22 a.m. was at 17,498.2 points, up 154.38 points or 0.89 percent from its previous close at 17,343.82 points.

It had hit a 20-month high around 11 a.m., touching 17,510.88 points.

Around the same time, at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was at 5,211.65 points, against the previous close at 5,169.45 points, a gain of 0.82 percent.

Broader market indices were also in the green, with the BSE midcap index ruling 0.65 percent up and the BSE small cap index 1.18 percent higher.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,892 scrips advancing, 815 declining and 81 remaining unchanged.

Among major gainers at this time were Jaiprakash Associates, up 3.27 percent at Rs.147; M&M, up 1.96 percent at Rs.1,083.20; NTPC, up 1.63 percent at Rs.236.70, and RIL, up 1.54 percent at Rs.1,091.50.

There were only two losers on the Sensex at this time: DLF, down 0.63 percent at Rs.363.50, and Maruti Suzuki, down 0.51 percent at Rs.1,561.80.

Other Asian markets were also trading in the green.

The Hang Seng, a benchmark index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was ruling higher at 21,872.5 points, 1.75 percent up.

However, in China, the Shanghai composite index was ruling 0.45 percent higher at 3,277.14 points, while the Kospi, the benchmark index of the Korean Stock Exchange, was up 0.62 percent at 1,682.77 points.

Japanese markets were closed.