Sensex rallies 765 points, Nifty ends above 16,900

Equity benchmarks scaled fresh lifetime highs on Monday led by gains in index majors RIL, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC twins. A positive trend in global peers supported today's rally. The BSE Sensex jumped 765.04 points or 1.36% to end at record 56,889.76. Likewise, the NSE Nifty climbed 225.85 points or 1.35% to its record closing of 16,931.05. Bharti Airtel was the top Sensex gainer followed by Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Titan, Maruti and Bajaj Finance. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Infosys and TCS were among the laggards. All sectoral indices on the NSE except Nifty IT closed in the green. Financial and metals witnessed sharp recovery. Nifty Metal, closing 2.47% higher, was the top sectoral gainer followed by Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Pharma and Nifty FMCG. Nifty IT closed 0.58% lower. Overall market breadth was positive as 2,213 shares advanced on the BSE, while 1,101 declined and 183 remained unchanged. In Asia, stock exchanges in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains. Equities in Europe were also trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.