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Mumbai: A key index of Indian equities markets Wednesday continued its rally for the second consecutive day and closed around the day's high on the back of strong buying of metal and bank stocks.The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,498.59 points, closed at 16,677.04 points, up 222.59 points or 1.35 percent. The chart showing the 52 week performance of the Sensex is on the left.

The index that traded in the green throughout the day hit an intra-day high of 16,700.56 points and a low of 16,498.59 points.The benchmark index had gained 240 points in Tuesday's trade.The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also ended in the positive terrain at 4,958.4 points, up 1.36 percent.Broader market indices also made gains, with the BSE midcap index ending 1.45 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index up 1.1 percent.The market breadth was positive, with 1,575 stocks advancing, 1,243 declining and 64 remaining unchanged.Tata Steel, one of the top steel makers in the world, led the rally with 8.21 percent hike in its share price. Other top gainers include Tata Motors, up 6.22 percent; Hindalco, up 4.96 percent; SBI, up 4 percent and Sterlite Industries 3.71 percent.The top losers are Hindustan Unilever, down 0.91 percent; Wipro, down 0.73 percent and Reliance Infrastructure 0.66 percent.According to data with the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), foreign institutional investors Wednesday bought shares worth $183.2 million.Other important Asian markets were trading mixed.The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 53.15 points higher at 10,270.77 points.

At the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the benchmark SSE Composite was ruling 2.04 percent down at 2,336.62 points.The primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hang Seng was in the green at 21,402.92 points, up 536.55 points or 2.57 percent.All major European markets were ruling in the positive terrain.In Britain, the FTSE 100 index was ruling 72.37 percent higher at 5,114.5 points, while its French peer, the CAC 40, was up 50.54 percent at 3,802.75 points.Germany's DAX, too, was ruling in the positive at 5,678.93 points, up 49.95 percent.