Sensex, Nifty march higher on Covid-19 vaccine progress news; ONGC rises 6%

Equity benchmarks made a winning start to the week on Monday as positive results from another Covid-19 vaccine candidate bolstered investor confidence globally.

After touching a record intra-day high of 44,271.15, Sensex ended 194.90 points or 0.44 per cent higher at 44,077.15. Similarly, the broader Nifty rose 67.40 points or 0.52 per cent to close at 12,926.45.

ONGC was the top performer on the Sensex chart, surging 6.84 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, HCL, and TCS.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries climbed 2.72 per cent, acco­u­nting for most of the Sensex’s gains.

On the other hand, the