Sensex zooms 449 points led by rally in banking, finance stocks

New Delhi: Markets closed in green on Monday led by rally in banking and financial stocks amid positive cues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex 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 finish at 11,873.05.

ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Nestle India, SBI, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, Kotak Bank were the top gainers in the Sensex pack. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, TCS, M&M, Bharti Airtel and Maruti were among the laggards, shedding up to 2.12 per cent.

In the Sensex pack, 23 constituents logged gains while seven closed in the red.

BSE bankex, finance, oil and gas, metal, realty and FMCG indices rallied as much as 3.35 per cent, while auto, healthcare, telecom, teck and IT indices closed with losses. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices climbed up to 0.58 per cent.

In the forex market, the rupee slipped 2 paise to close at 73.37 against the US dollar. PTI ANS ABM ANS ABM ABM

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.16 per cent lower at USD 42.67 per barrel.