Stock Market: Sensex Gains 760 Points, Nifty Ends Above 16,250; IT Stocks Zoom 3 Per Cent

Stock update: IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and ICICI Bank were the major gainers on the BSE

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Monday extended their gains for the second straight session and surged over 1 per cent at close on Monday following buying in IT, oil and gas, and banking shares bolstered by firm global trends.

The BSE Sensex rallied 760 points (1.41 per cent) to close at 54,521. During the day, it jumped 795 points to 53,760. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 229 points (1.43 per cent) to 16,278 as 41 of its constituents advanced.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and ICICI Bank were the major gainers. On the flipside, Dr Reddy's Lab, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, and HDFC were the laggards.

In the broader markets, Midcap and Smallcap shares finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 gained 1.40 per cent and Smallcap climbed 1.59 per cent.

On NSE, 13 out of the 15 sector gauges settled in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty IT, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty Metal outperformed the NSE platform by rising as much as 3.13 per cent, 2.77 per cent, and 2.49 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Pharma fell as much as 0.09 per cent and 0.15 per cent, each.

On specific stocks, Hindalco was the top Nifty gainer as the stock rose 4.75 per cent to Rs 367.20. IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Bajaj Finserv were also among the notable gainers.

"Indian markets opened on positive note following positive overall Asian markets. During the afternoon session markets further strengthened as buying in IT, teck and capital goods stocks was seen. Gains in frontline blue-chip stocks such as Infosys, Tech Mahindra also helped to lift the markets," said Narendra Solanki, head, fundamental research, Anand Rathi-Investment Services.

During the last session on Friday, the BSE Sensex climbed 344 points (0.65 per cent) to settle at 53,760 and the Nifty advanced 110 points (0.69 per cent) to 16,049.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.18 per cent to $103.4 per barrel.

In Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended significantly higher. Markets in Europe were trading in the green during mid-session deals. The US markets had ended sharply higher on Friday.

Foreign institutional investors went in selling mode again as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,649.36 crore in the capital market on Friday, as per exchange data.