Easing of worries regarding the eurozone sovereign debt crisis and hopes that major Central banks will take policy actions to revive a struggling global economy bolstered trading sentiment across the world.
Reform initiatives by Finance Minister P Chidambaram to boost investments in financial instruments and easing of retail inflation along with progress of monsoon also lifted investor confidence.
The session commenced on a positive note after a long weekend with firm buying in frontline heavyweights though profit taking kept gains under check. The market remained range-bound before breaking free in mid-afternoon, driven by huge liquidity pushing the key index to a five-month high.
Technology stocks were in limelight led by Infosys after an American Court dismissed harassment charges filed by a US employee of the software major. Heavy buying was also seen in oil & gas, auto, bank, metal and infra-related scrips.
The 50-share Nifty to hit a high of 5,425.15 before ending at 5,421, a net rise of 54.70 points, or 1.02 per cent, over the last close.
Sterlite Industries, DLF, Sesa Goa, NTPC, Ambuja Cement, IDFC, ACC, Tata Motors, Gail and HDFC were the top gainers from the Nifty pack. Bharti Airtel, Cairn, PNB, Tata Steel, Hindalco, BPCL, Dr Reddy's, Ranbaxy, Reliance and Kotak topped the losers' list.
The turnover in cash segment dropped to Rs 9,357.05 crore from Rs 10,262.50 crore on last Friday. Overall, 5,137.116 lakh shares changed hands in 48,24,260 trades. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 61,14,552 crore.