Sensex gains 181 points

The BSE Sensex rose on Thursday as auto makers and property developers gained on hopes of increased sales of big-ticket items during the looming festival season, while lenders rose on hopes of higher retail loan demand.

Domestic shares gathered momentum after a slew of Chinese data boosted optimism about the health of the world's second-largest economy, sending Asian indexes higher.

The BSE Sensex rose 0.97 per cent, or 181.16 points, to 18,791.93. The Nifty rose 1.03 per cent, or 58.45 points, to 5,718.70.