The 30-share index Sensex, today, climbed up further from its early highs with consumer durables, FMCG and banking shares topping the gaining charts.

The Sensex was trading 183 points up around noon joining the rally at other major Asian markets.

The Sensex, which belled the day at 18,276.5, stood at 18,440.59, up 183.47 points (1%) as against its last closure at 18,257.12.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broad-based Nifty stood at 5,529.35, up 0.92%.

Broader markets indices remained positive, with the BSE midcap index 0.77% higher and the BSE smallcap index trading 0.84% up.

The overall market breadth remained optimistic as it witnessed 1,769 advancements as against 1,028 declinations.

Asian stock markets were also trading on a high note.

The Japanese Nikkei stood at 9,362.68, up 1.32%, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.22% at 21,279.01.

The Chinese Shanghai Composite index grew by 1.08% at 2,695.23.