Sensex rises 125 pts, Nifty nears 17k; RIL, Maruti shine

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex climbed 126 points on Monday, propped up by buying in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Maruti and SBI amid a higher opening in European equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 126.76 points or 0.22 per cent to finish at 57,653.86. During the day, it jumped 492.45 points or 0.85 per cent to 58,019.55.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 40.65 points or 0.24 per cent to end at 16,985.70.

Among the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Sun Pharma, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever, ITC and HDFC Bank were the biggest gainers.

Shares of Reliance Industries climbed 1.54 per cent, the most among the 30-share BSE constituents.

Power Grid, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors were among the major laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the red while Japan settled in the green.

European markets were trading in positive territory during the afternoon trade. The US markets ended higher on Friday.

The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 398.18 points or 0.69 per cent to finish at 57,527.10 points on Friday. The Nifty fell 131.85 points or 0.77 per cent to end at 16,945.05 points.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.39 per cent to USD 75.28 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,720.44 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.