Closing Bell: Nifty, Sensex end higher by 1.5%; banking, IT stocks gain

The Indian markets ended nearly 1.5% on Monday as oil eased amid mixed global cues. Benchmark Nifty50 closed the day above 16,800 and the Sensex surged more than 900 points in the closing. The two indices settled at 16,871 and 56,486.02 respectively.  

Buying interest was seen in banking, financial services, media, IT, consumer durables and autos, while Realty, oil & gas, metal and pharma declined in a positive market.  

The Nifty Bank settled above 35,200 with over 700 points gain. In the broader market, mid cap and smallcap indices ended marginally higher.  

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Infosys was top gainer, while State Bank, HDFC Ltd, Maruti, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Wipro were among top gainers.  

IOC ONGC, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, HDFC Life, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma dragged the market on Monday.  

Vijay Dhanotiya,  Lead of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited, said that sustaining above 16,800 will be crucial for the market to stay positive.   

"The market witnessed some positive movement and an attempt to hold the market above the levels of 16800. Market research suggests that sustaining above 16800 will be an important level for the market to stay positive in the short term," said Dhanotiya. 

If the market sustains above the support levels, we expect the market to stay positive till the level of 17200, he said. "The momentum indicators like RSI and MACD indicating positive side momentum in the market," he added.  

In related development, it is learnt that the government is planning to float LIC IPO in may due to volatility in the market.  

The government has time till May 12 to launch the initial public offering (IPO) of LIC without filing fresh papers with market regulator Sebi, PTI said quoting an official. 

The government's sale of about 31.6 crore shares or 5 per cent stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which was estimated to fetch around Rs 60,000 crore to the exchequer, was originally planned to be launched in March, but the Russia-Ukraine crisis has derailed the plans as stock markets are highly volatile. 

(Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advice expressed here in this article are solely by investment experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their investment advisers before making any financial decision.)