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Benchmark indices have extended the gains, amid a volatile trading session, led by buying among software shares and index heavyweight Reliance Inds.
By 1445, the Sensex was up 76 points at 19,651 and the 50-share Nifty was up 18 points at 5,962.
On the global front, Asian stocks rose on Monday as investors cheered the upbeat U.S. labour force report that sent Wall Street to an all-time closing high last week, while the dollar held its ground against the yen. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed nearly 1% with Australia's main share index also about a percent higher.
Malaysian shares were the biggest gainers, rising 3% after the ruling coalition government won a tight election.
Japanese financial markets are shut on Monday for a public holiday and will reopen on Tuesday. Britain's stock market is also shut on Monday for a national holiday, and that is expected to keep trading quiet in Europe.
Back home, on the sectoral front, BSE IT and Metal indices have surged by nearly 2% each followed by counters like Auto, Oil & Gas and Consumer Durable, all gaining by 1% each. However, BSE FMCG index has declined by nearly 1%.
The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Hindalco, Tata Steel, TCS, RIL, Tata Motors, Hero Moto and Sterlite, all gaining between 2-4%.
On the losing side, ONGC, NTPC, HDFC Bank and ITC have declined between 1-2%.
Asian Paints has moved higher by 3.5% to Rs 4,858 after the company said Berger International, Singapore has reported a net profit of Rs 3.50 crore for the quarter ended March 2013 against loss of Rs 2.21 crore in year ago quarter.
The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 1,286 shares advancing and 971 shares declining.
