The market welcomed the initiatives in the Railway Budget including plans to improve infrastructure.

Leading foreign institutional investor and mutual fund HSBC reportedly bought aggressively in the last one hour of trading, leading to a sharp surge in the market.

Touching a low of 14,499.74, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer later bounced back with a vengeance and ended the day at 14,913.05, a net gain of 254.56 points or 1.74 per cent over its previous close.

Market sentiment was boosted by intra-trade recovery in Asian and European stocks. Disappointing US jobs data weighed on the global stocks at the outset.

Despite a populist budget with steady freight rates and passenger fares, rail-related stocks pared early gains as investors booked profits in these shares.