New Delhi - India's benchmark Sensex stock index gained 3.69 per cent in early trading Friday on US government plans for a mammoth bailout to contain its financial crisis.

The 30-share-sensitive index, which had been losing ground for most of the week because of the US crisis, gained 491 points soon after the markets opened. It was quoted at 13,787.11 at 11:30 local time (0600 GMT).

Similarly, the broader National Stock Exchange's Nifty index rose 2.9 per cent to 4,155.15 at the same time as all industrial sectors, led by blue-chip stocks, recorded handsome gains.

Washington - A mammoth bailout by the US government to contain the ongoing financial crisis could cost as much as half a trillion dollars, media reports said Friday.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke briefed congressional leaders on comprehensive measures late Thursday, in what could become the largest-ever intervention in US financial markets. The new move represents a broader approach to dealing with the crisis, as opposed to the ad hoc and stop-gap measures taken since the beginning of this year.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares shot up by 6.5 per cent Friday morning as a roller-coaster week moved towards an end with a strong overnight rally on Wall Street.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index closed the morning up 1,146.57 points at 18,779.03 points. Turnover was a hefty 62.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.97 billion US dollars).

The surge in share prices comes after Wall Street staged one of its biggest one-day rises in months after central banks intervened in global markets to halt their decline.

Manila - Philippine share prices surged 4.69 per cent on Friday, buoyed by the US government's plan to rescue troubled financial institutions.

The 30-share composite index of the Philippine Stock Exchange gained 110.42 points to close at 2,462.79 from Thursday's finish of 2,352.37.

Gainers led losers 99 to 19, while 29 stocks were unchanged.

A total of 1.03 billion shares worth 3.095 billion pesos (66.274 million dollars) were traded.

The Sensex, which continued to trade in the positive terrain since morning, has crossed the mark of 14,000 on the back of sustained buying action witnessed in Realty, IT, power, oil & gas, banking and metal stocks. 

Midcap and smallcap index surged more than 2% each.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex, which gained 448.23 points during the opening time, ended positively on Thursday (Sep 18) after making a gain of 52.70 points, while the NSE Nifty climbed by 29.90 points.