The markets rose for the third day in a row with the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex closing higher by over 214 points even as the political situation remained tense and uncertain a day ahead of the key trust vote in Parliament.

  The 30-share BSE barometer  moved up  by 214.64 points to 13,850.04 on brisk buying in heavy-weight stocks, particularly in banking and pharma counters. The wide-based Nifty on the NSE index also gained 67.25 points at 4,159.50, after touching the day’s high of 4,168.15 and a low of 4,072.75. The market was volatile during the day. Marketmen said sentiment remained bullish on expectations that the government may be able to muster enough numbers and win the confidence motion tabled in Parliament on Monday.

RCOM rallied after the talks with MTN was called off. Asian stocks rose in the range of 2.40 per cent to 3.97 per cent with concerns over the global impact of a weak US financial sector easing marginally.