New Delhi, Oct 5 : Anticipation of a waiver of loan interest during the moratorium period, along with positive global cues and likelihood of a stimulus package, pushed the Indian equity markets higher on Monday. Both the key indices, the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50, made healthy gains. This was the third consecutive session of a rise for them. Buying was witnessed in IT, metal, pharma, FMCG and banking stocks, while infra and energy indices ended in the red. Globally, stocks moved higher on Monday following reports that President Donald Trump could be discharged from hospital later in the day and hopes that US lawmakers could strike a deal on new measures to stimulate the economy. Consequently, the S&P BSE Banking index closed at 38,973.70, higher by 276.65 points, or 0.71 per cent, from its previous close. The Nifty50, on the National Stock Exchange, traded at 11,503.35, higher by 86.40 points, or 0.76 per cent, from its previous close. "Our markets opened higher but traders chose to take profits in select stocks ahead of the results season that will begin this week. "Markets remain sensitive to news on Trump's wellbeing. Nifty could face resistance at 11,586 in the near term," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said: "Indian indices had a very positive start taking cues from the global market and in anticipation of the Supreme Court verdict of the compounding of loans during the moratorium period." "Gains came off when the decision was deferred to next week, this delay is unlikely to change the framework for small borrowers and the banking sector as the government and RBI is expected to maintain the buoyancy of the matter. "In the near-term, the market is expected to maintain its optimism based on Trump's recovery, development of stimulus in US and India, upcoming Q2FY21 results in India and Supreme Court final verdict," he said. /IANS