The key benchmark indices surged in the early trades today on the back of gains on Wall Street. The Sensex advanced 253 points to 16,306 levels and the Nifty was up 1.8 per cent at 4,838.

Heavy buying was seen in realty, metal and banking stocks. The BSE realty index was up 4.4 per cent.

The metal index on the BSE rose 3.7 per cent and the BSE bankex gained 2.8 per cent.

Among the Sensex stocks, Sterlite Ind was the biggest gainer. The stock jumped over 5 per cent. Maruti, Tata Steel and Hindalco were the other major gainers in the pack, up over 4 per cent each.

However, Tata Power was the main loser in the group. The stock fell 1.8 per cent.

Indian Oil Corp shed nearly 3 per cent on the BSE today. Massive fire erupted at the company’s fuel depot in Sitapura industrial area on the outskirts of Jaipur on Thursday night.

US stocks logged their best day in three months as investors rushed into the market on word the economy grew faster than expected during the summer.

The Commerce Department's report that gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter reinvigorated investors who had dumped stocks for much of the week on signs of a slowing housing market and a disappointing report on consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 199.89, or 2.1 percent, to 9,962.58. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 23.48, or 2.3 percent, to 1,066.11, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 37.94, or 1.8 percent, to 2,097.55.

Asian stock markets also rose today tracking gains in US markets. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 640 points and Japan's Nikkei was up 1.2 per cent. China’s Shanghai Composite surged 2.1 per cent.