NEW DELHI: Equity indices surged on Monday with the benchmark BSE sensex rising just over 650 points led by gains in banking and auto stocks.

The 30-share BSE index jumped 651 points or 1.09 per cent to close at 60,396. While, the broader NSE Nifty settled 191 points or 1.07 per cent higher at 18,003.

Top gainers in the sensex pack included Titan, Maruti, SBI, L&T, HDFC and Kotak Bank with their shares rising as much as 3.12 per cent.

Whereas, Wipro, Nestle India, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma were the ajor laggards falling up to 2.47 per cent.

On the NSE platform, sub-indices Nifty PSU Bank, Media, Auto and Bank gained as much as 3.23 per cent.

"With banking stocks correcting in the last few months, PSU and private lenders are currently at attractive valuations," said Anita Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets.

On Friday, the government cut its forecast for economic growth in the year to end-March to 9.2 per cent from an earlier estimate of more than 10 per cent. The new forecast compares with a contraction of 7.3 per cent in 2020-21.

Still, analysts believe even with the latest estimate, India could be one of the fastest growing economies.

Investors are now eyeing Q3 results starting this week from the IT majors and HDFC Bank are likely to set the trend for the crucial IT and banking segments.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market, as they bought shares worth Rs 496.27 crore on Friday, according to stock exchange data.