A firm uptrend continued to mark the late sessions in the markets; the Sensex gained 623 points at 18,446, while the Nifty surged 189 points at 5,522.

After a strong opening this morning, following a fairly satisfactory Budget on Monday, and positive response from industry, the bourses clocked in gains, with the auto index leading the gains, mostly.

The Budget proved a relief rally for most investors, as the government doled out proposals to counter rising inflation, and further economic growth.

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For the next fiscal, the government increased the IT exemption limit for individuals from Rs 160,000 to Rs 180,000.

Top gainers on the Sensex were auto major Mahindra & Mahindra at Rs 660 up up by a whopping 7 per cent, followed by Maruti Suzuki at Rs 1,278 up 6 per cent and Hindalco Industries at Rs 211 up 5 per cent.

Tata Power was the only loser on the Sensex, down a little less than a per cent at Rs 1,147.

In the broader markets, the Mid-cap and Small-cap indices under-performed the benchmark; the Mid-cap index was up a little less than 3 per cent at 6,536, while the

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Small-cap was at 7,960 up 2 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, the Auto index held ground for most part of the day today, after last week's dismal performance amidst fears of a hike in excise duty.

However, with the government keeping the excise duty intact, auto stocks rallied, and the index was seen trading at a premium of 5 per cent at 8,666.

Major gainers in this space were Asok Leyland at Rs 51, which leaped 10 per cent, Bharat Forge at Rs 332 and M&M at Rs 663 both up 8 per cent.

Apollo Tyres and Maruti Suzuki were other gainers up 6 per cent each.

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