Indian equities markets on Thursday were trading higher in the afternoon backed by gains in established telecom scrips, which were expected to gain after the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences issued in 2008 by then communications minister A.Raja.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 17,438.07 points, was ruling at 17,470.70 points, 170.12 points or 0.98 percent up from its previous close at 17,300.58 points.

The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was also trading in the green at 5,275.15 points, up 39.45 points or 0.75 percent from its previous close.

Gainers were mainly led by telecom firms. The BSE telecom index was leading 13 sectoral indices.

Prominent gainers on the benchmark index and from the telecom space included: Bharti Airtel, up 7.85 percent at Rs.389.45; Idea, up 3.96 percent at Rs.97.05 and MTNL, up 2.66 percent at Rs.30.90.

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The Supreme Court said the companies whose licences stand to be cancelled will continue to offer their services for four months during which time the telecom regulator will look into the matter and make recommendations for the fresh auction.

Broader markets were ruling higher as well, with the BSE 500 index trading 0.81 percent up from its previous close. The BSE midcap index was up 0.53 percent while the BSE smallcap index gained 0.58 percent.

The market breadth was positive with 1,466 stocks advancing, 1,152 on the decline and 111 unchanged.

Asian markets were ruling in the green. The Japanese Nikkei gained 0.76 percent and closed at 8,876.82 points, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.66 percent to trade at 20,671.42 points.

The Chinese Shanghai Composite index was ruling 1.89 percent higher at 2,310.94 points.