Markets soar ahead of Budget; Sensex races to 58k mark, Nifty rises above 17,330

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks notched up solid gains on Monday after a two-session sliding streak as healthy growth projections in the Economic Survey and supportive global cues enthused investors.

Investors' wealth on Monday gained over Rs 3.33 lakh crore as markets witnessed heavy buying a day ahead of the Union Budget.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a firm footing and kept its momentum throughout the session. It finally closed at 58,014.17, clocking a gain of 813.94 points or 1.42 per cent.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty rallied 237.90 points or 1.39 per cent to end at 17,339.85.

Tech Mahindra topped the Sensex gainers' chart, climbing 4.88 per cent, followed by Wipro, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, SBI, PowerGrid and Reliance Industries. Only three counters closed in the red -- IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and HUL, shedding up to 3.51 per cent.

Barring metal, all BSE sectoral indices closed higher, led by realty, IT, teck, consumer durables, energy and auto. In the broader markets, the midcap and smallcap gauges spurted up to 1.76 per cent.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.86 per cent to $90.80 per barrel. The rupee surged 42 paise to close at 74.65 against the US dollar on Monday.