From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 04:02 PM IST

Indian equities markets were holding on to their gains Thursday afternoon, with a key index ruling about 139 points higher than its previous close about an hour before the closing bell.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 12,064.51 points, was ruling 138.59 points or 1.16 percent higher at 12,091.34 points.

Similarly, the S and amp;P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) gained 1.3 percent from the previous close to trade at 3,672.15 points.

The BSE midcap index gained 2.2 percent, while the BSE smallcap index was up 2.04 percent.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)