Sensex rallies 449 points; Nifty tops 11,850

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 449 points on Monday, led by heavy buying in banking and financial counters amid largely positive cues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE index ended 448.62 points or 1.12 per cent higher at 40,431.60. The broader NSE Nifty surged 110.60 points or 0.94 per cent to 11,873.05.

ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping over 5 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Nestle India, SBI, HDFC, ONGC and Kotak Bank.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, TCS, Bharti Airtel, M&M and Maruti were among the laggards.

The domestic market opened on a positive note tracking largely positive cues from global markets, traders said.

During the afternoon session markets held on to opening gains with sustained interest seen in banking, financial, oil and gas, metals and realty stocks.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note, while Shanghai was in the red after the release of China's GDP numbers.

China's economic growth accelerated to 4.9 per cent over a year earlier in the latest quarter as a shaky recovery from the coronavirus pandemic gathered strength.

The economy "continued the steady recovery", China's National Bureau of Statistics said in a report. However, it warned that "the international environment is still complicated and severe".

It also said China still faces "great pressure" to prevent a resurgence of the virus. Meanwhile, stock exchanges in Europe opened on a positive note. International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.16 per cent lower at USD 42.67 per barrel. In the forex market, the rupee slipped 2 paise to close at 73.37 against the US dollar.