As investors turned bullish worldwide following hopes that Greece will not leave the troubled-Eurozone, the BSE index resumed higher at 16,289.82 and hit the day's high of 16,439.97. It finally closed at 16,416.84, showing a gain of 199.02 points or 1.23 per cent from its previous close.
The rally was led by banking stocks including SBI (up 4.76 pc), ICICI Bank (2.29 pc), HDFC Bank (1.52 pc) as investors were attracted to the sector following steady fourth quarter earnings and better outlook.
The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty also moved up by 65.25 points, or 1.33 per cent to 4,985.65, inching towards the crucial 5,000 mark. Investors' wealth rose by nearly Rs 63,000 crore in a single session.
In Asia, key indices of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan moved up by 0.15 per cent to 1.19 per cent.
In the Indian market, 1,714 stocks rose while 1,008 counters saw erosion in price.
"Sentiments improved globally, after opinion polls in Greece indicated lead in the upcoming elections for a party which is in favour of the country's economic bailout package," said Shanu Goel, Senior Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio.
Dealers said rupee's strong performance also aided the sentiments. After closing at 55.37 a dollar on Friday, the rupee was last trading at 55.25 with a gain of 12 paise.
Stocks from power, consumer durables, capital goods, auto, realty and metal also were in demand as investors pumped funds in fundamentally strong counters, brokers said.
Market participants said the mood was helped by global rating agency Moody's comment that the sliding rupee will not impact India's sovereign ratings. (MORE)
