Sensex rallies over 1,300 pts; Nifty recaptures 18k mark

New Delhi: Equity benchmark Sensex surged over 1,300 points on Monday to reclaim the 60,000-level, boosted by intense buying in banking and financial stocks after the announcement of merger between HDFC and HDFC Bank.

Strong global cues and receding crude oil prices also propped up the domestic equity markets, according to traders.

Shares of HDFC and HDFC Bank rallied nearly 10 per cent as investors lapped up the merger deal.

In the biggest merger in corporate history, India's largest housing finance company HDFC Ltd will merge with the country's largest private lender HDFC Bank to create a banking behemoth.

The 30-share BSE index closed 1,335.05 points or 2.25 per cent higher at 60,611.74. Likewise, the NSE Nifty jumped 382.95 points or 2.17 per cent to end at 18,053.40.

The scrip of HDFC Bank surged 9.97 per cent to Rs 1,656.45, while HDFC Ltd jumped 9.30 per cent to Rs 2,678.90.

The other gainers in the Sensex pack included Kotak Bank, HUL, L&T, IndusInd Bank and Sun Pharma.

On the other hand, Titan and Infosys were the laggards.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai closed with healthy gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading significantly higher in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.05 per cent to USD 103.29 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets as they bought shares worth Rs 1,909.78 crore on Friday, as per exchange data.