The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today regained the 15,000-level after nearly six week by extending its gains by more than 110 points on strong global cues amid easing crude prices.


The BSE barometer added another 112.47 points at 15,073.54 points.The key index touched the day's high of 15,422.82 and a low of 15,035.60.


Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 20 of them closed higher.


The National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved between 4,615.90 and 4,503.90 before ending at 4,517.55, a rise of 14.70 points.


Reliance Industries, the heaviest among Sensex scrips, and other blue chips such as Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, BHEL, Larsen and Toubro, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank posted gains.


Market participants said buying activity gathered momentum following a sharp upsurge in US stock markets on falling crude oil prices which have eased concerns over inflation.


However, a steep fall in metal stocks pulled down the market in the last one hour, only to reduce the gains.
The metal sector index dropped by 405.64 points at 12,859.19 as sectorial stocks like Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, JSW Steel, Nalco, NMDC, Sesa Goa and SAIL lost substantial ground.


A steep rise in the capital goods index, which gained 203.11 points at 12,482.88, averted any major fall in the benchmark.