The Sensex opens up 235.62 points 19529.74 while the Nifty is up 76.55 points at 5893.25. Asian share markets climbed to a three-week high on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke assurance that highly accommodative monetary policy is needed now.

IndusInd Bank shares were up 2 percent to Rs 505.25 after the company’s first quarter numbers declared Wednesday were better than market expectations. Brokerage house Kotak Securities has raised its target price for the stock to Rs 530 from 490 and retained its ‘add’ recommendation on the stock, post the earnings.

CLSA has maintained sell rating on SAIL with a target price of Rs 35 per share.  The brokerage has reduced FY14-15 EPS by 38-47 percent. Beep, beep! 9 large cap stocks to sell ahead of April-June quarter earnings

Gold jumped to 2.5 week high  in more than two weeks on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank will continue to pursue an accommodative monetary policy for now to support the economy, reports Reuters.

Spot gold was up 1.8 percent to USD 1,285.76 an ounce by 0024 GMT, extending gains into a fourth day. It earlier climbed to USD 1,289.35 – its highest since June 24. US gold jumped as much as 3.3 percent to a two- and-a-half week high of USD 1,288.3. Spot silver also rose 3 percent to USD 19.93 – its highest in one and a half weeks.

The offer for sale of Hindustan Media Ventures has begun today.  HT Media has set the floor price for its offer for sale at Rs 120 a share. It will divest over 19 lakh shares in Hindustan Media Ventures. HT Media holds 76.94 percent stake in Hindustan Media Ventures. HT Media is at Rs 97.50, up Rs 2.45, or 2.58 percent on the BSE.

Hindalco (up 2.80 percent), L&T (up 2.61 percent), ICICI Bank (up 2.41 percent), Tata Power (up 2.32 percent) and Infosys (up 2.13 percent) are top gainers in the Sensex. The Sensex surges 288.17 points at 19582.29, and the Nifty is up 91.40 points at 5908.10.  About 615 shares have advanced, 127 shares declined, and 39 shares are unchanged.