Mumbai, March 24 : The Indian stock markets on Monday continued their winning streak for the sixth consecutive trading session, with both Sensex and Nifty ending the day with robust gains.

Investors remained optimistic as key indices surged over 1 per cent each during the intra-day trade. The 30-share Sensex climbed 1,078.87 points, or 1.40 per cent, to close at 77,984.38. During the day, it even touched an intra-day high of 78,107.23.

Similarly, the Nifty index ended 307.95 points higher, or 1.32 per cent, at 23,658.35, after reaching a high of 23,708.75 earlier in the session.

Market sentiment was bullish, with 24 out of 30 Sensex stocks closing in the green. NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, Tech Mahindra, and Power Grid Corporation were among the top gainers, rising up to 4.63 per cent.

On the other hand, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato, IndusInd Bank, and Titan saw some declines, with losses of up to 2.73 per cent.

The broader market also performed well, as the Nifty Midcap100 and Smallcap100 indices rose over 1 per cent each.

Banking stocks led the rally, with PSU banks showing the strongest performance. The Nifty PSU Bank index jumped 3.18 per cent, while Bank Nifty and the Nifty Private Bank index also gained over 2 per cent.

The capital goods, oil and gas, power, realty, and telecom stocks also performed well, rising between 1-2 per cent.

Apart from the Nifty Media index, all other sectoral indices on the NSE ended in positive territory, adding to the upbeat mood in the market.

"With every sector closing positively and banking stocks leading the charge, the market's bullish momentum remains intact," said Sundar Kewat of Ashika Institutional Equity.

He added that, "investors now await further cues to gauge whether this rally has more room to run."

On Friday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) recorded a net inflow of Rs 7,470 crore, reinforcing market confidence.

FIIs also increased their long positions in index futures, with the Long-Short ratio improving to 31.8 per cent, indicating a gradual shift towards optimism -- a factor that likely boosted sentiment in today's session.

The Indian rupee also showed strength, closing 34 paise higher at 85.63 per US dollar compared to Friday's close of 85.97.

According to Vinit Bolinjkar, Head of Research at Ventura, this strengthening of the rupee is supported by favourable domestic factors and the RBI's policies.

/IANS