The S&P BSE Sensex settled above 37,000 for the first time since September 2018, with the index ending at 37,054, up 382 points. While the broader NSE Nifty50 ended at 11,168, adding 132 points. Nifty also ended above 11,150 levels for the first time since September 2018. Benchmark Indices were led by sustained buying in midcaps, smallcaps, auto, metal, telecom and banking stocks. Broader markets outperformed frontline indices with the Nifty MidCap rising 2.1 percent and Nifty Smallcap gaining 2.3 percent.

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Bharti Airtel was the top gainer on the BSE Sensex, up 8 percent at closing, followed by PowerGrid, Coal India, Reliance Industries and HeroMoto Corp which rose in the range of 2.5-4 percent. NTPC, TCS, HCL Tech and Infosys were the only losers in the index.

Among sectors, all except Nifty IT were trading in green. Nifty Auto, Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank were the top performing sectors, up over 2 percent each. Meanwhile, FMCG, pharma, realty and fin services sectors also surged.

(Market update at close)

Nifty hits 6-month high, Sensex jumps over 300 points led by banks, midcap stocks

Indian shares extended gains in the afternoon session on Monday, with the NSE Nifty50 hitting its highest level since September 26 last year, on the back of buying by the overseas investors.

The investors are now pinning their hopes on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ruling alliance's victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Election Commission of India had on Sunday evening announced a seven-phase polling beginning April 11. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

The BSE Sensex jumped 295 points, or 0.81 percent, to trade at 36,967 at 1.06 pm. The NSE Nifty50 also surged 107.60 points, or 0.98 percent, at 11,143.

Broader markets sharply outperformed their frontline peers. The Nifty MidCap rose almost 2 percent, while the BSE MidCap was up 1.67 percent. Only Nifty IT and BSE IT were trading lower among 43 sectoral indices. BSE Telecom surged the most by 3.64 percent.

Among the index gainers, HPCL, Bharti Airtel, BPCL, NTPC, Power Grid, Coal India and Hero MotoCorp, rose between 2 and 6.5 percent. The laggards included IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and HDFC Bank down by up to 0.9 percent.

State Bank of India shares jumped 2.8 percent to the highest in over a month, after the public sector lender said on Friday it would link savings bank deposits and short-term loans to the repo rate of the Reserve Bank of India from May.

Shares of Jet Airways gained as much as 4.6 percent to Rs 254.50, on news reports that the airline company has received a fresh loan of Rs 2,050 crore from Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Other public sector banks also rose, with the Nifty PSU bank index up 2.3 percent.

IDBI Bank shares rose 5 percent after CNBC-TV18 reported that the bank is looking for bids to sell all seven non-performing assets (NPAs) worth 1,353 crore by March-end to banks, financial institutions or asset restructuring companies.

Downstream public sector companies also gained with HPCL and BPCL among top gainers on the NSE index.

Shares of Dilip Buildcon rallied over 7 percent in the early morning trade on Monday after the company said it was declared the lowest bidder for an NHAI project in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee quoted at 69.86 per US dollar at 1.15 pm. The home currency had opened higher at 70.01 against the US dollar, 13 paise up from Friday's close of 70.14 against the greenback.

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First Published:Mar 11, 2019 1:43 PM IST