Mumbai, Apr 24 (IANS): Metal stocks are the top sectoral gainers in trade while PSU stocks also posted strong gains on Wednesday.

The metal stocks index is up 2.8 per cent. SAIL is up 7 per cent, NMDC is up 5 per cent, while JSW Steel is up 3.7 per cent intra-day.

PSU stocks are also firm with the index, up 2 per cent. Among the PSUs, metal and defence stocks are outperforming on Wednesday. Defence stocks like Bharat Dynamics are up 7 per cent, Hindustan Aeronautics is up more than 4 per cent, GRSE is up 3 per cent, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders is up 3 per cent, while Cochin Shipyard is up more than 2 per cent.

The benchmark BSE Sensex is trading at 73,978 points, up by 240 points. JSW Steel, Tata Steel are up 3 per cent, while Powergrid, NTPC are up more than 1 per cent.

The market breadth on Wednesday is positive with 60 per cent of the stocks advancing and 35 per cent declining.

Fertiliser stocks are also in the green with Chambal Fertilisers up 6 per cent, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers up 4 per cent, while Gujarat State Fertilisers and Chemicals is up 4 per cent.