Gaining for the second straight session, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange surged 280 points, or 1.7 per cent, to close above the 17,000 level, at 17,022, today. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange jumped 91 points, or 1.8 percent, to 5,111. Global markets also rallied, as strong US economic data improved investor confidence in the world economy. The bourses in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore rallied between 1.6 percent and 3.2 percent. The European markets also posted good gains.