The BSE Barometer opened firm at 19,336.96 points then rallied to an intra-day high of 19,987.71, a jump of 952.23 points or 5 percent.

It later closed at 19,929.06, gaining 4.69 percent over Tuesday’s close of 19,035.48 points.

RIL, the country's most valued firm, soared by 7.11 percent. HDFC Bank gained 10.81 percent, while HDFC rose by 6.51 percent at close.

"The market gain was because of global cues. Besides, the political development also gelled well with the sentiment. The rally was driven by short covering, strong buying by domestic investors and HNIs. However, there was not much involement by foreign investors," Asika Stock Brokers' Paras Bodhra said.

The rally came after a downward correction of about 10 percent from the intra-day peak of 20,238.16 on 30th October to a trading low of 18,333.21 on 12th November.

The previous biggest one-day gain was on 23rd October this year, when the Bombay Stock Exchange barometer rose 878.85 points after market regulator SEBI allowed sub-accounts of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) to trade.

The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also zoomed by 242.50 points or 4.26 percent to 5,937.90 from previous close of 5,695.40.

Strong global cues, easing worries over the US credit crisis and indications of a softening of hardline by the Left parties on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal powered the rally, market players said. - DDNEWS