The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday scaled fresh highs. At 10.18 am, the BSE Sensex gained 500 points to 73,066. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 22,014, up 119 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Wipro was the lead gainer, up over 7 per cent, followed by TechM, HCL, Infosys, HDFC Bank, TCS. On the down side, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, NTPC, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, JSW Steel emerged losers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices jumped up to 0.6 per cent.
Sectoriwse, Nifty IT index advanced over 3 per cent, while realty, PSU Bank indices jumped over 1 per cent each. Pharma, Consumer Durbale pockets were the top underperformers.
In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 72,568, up 847 points while the NSE Nifty50 settled 247 points higher to 21,895.
"The rally in the market, primarily driven by momentum, is now getting support from fundamentals. The sharp bounce in large cap IT stocks on the back of slightly positive management commentary indicates that an underperforming segment can surprise on the upside on news of a turnaround in the sector. The IT index, which shot up by 5 per cent on Friday will remain firm since HCL Tech and Wipro have more room on the upside," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai were trading in the green while Hong Kong quoted marginally lower. The US markets ended on a muted note on Friday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.24 per cent to $78.48 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 340.05 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 18 paise to 82.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, supported by bullish domestic equities wherein domestic indices touched record highs. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 82.82 and touched 82.77 against the greenback in initial trade, registering a rise of 18 paise from its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee strengthened for the eighth consecutive session to settle with a gain of 6 paise to 82.95 against the US dollar.