The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex rose by 192.83 points to close at 28,661.58 and the National Stock Exchange Nifty ended 57.50 points higher at 8,879.20 as markets closed Monday on a high note after late buying by investors. Markets were boosted by gains in information technology and telecom stocks, and several shares hit record highs during intra-day trading.

Telecom stocks rallied after several merger-related reports. Shares of Idea Cellular Limited ended 2.60% higher at Rs 108.65 after a PTI report said its proposed merger with Vodafone India was likely to be finalised by the end of the month. Similarly, shares of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and Reliance Communications rose by 6.61% and 4.22% after a report in The Economic Times said that the two companies were also exploring the possibility of a merger to take on the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio. Shares of Bharti Airtel also ended 1.19% higher.

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Shares of several IT stocks also closed in the green, with HCL Technologies Limited, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services Limited ending between 0.90%-4.03% higher. Meanwhile, shares of several companies, including Alkem Laboratories Limited, Biocon Limited and Motilal Oswal Financial Services, hit record highs during intra-day trading, Business Standard reported. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices also closed 0.68% and 0.91% higher.

Asian markets closed higher on Monday as a strong performance by Wall Street stocks helped boost investor sentiment, AP reported. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose by 0.1% to close at 19,251.08 after reports said that imports to the country grew for the first time in 25 months in January. Separately, South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.2% higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.5% and 1.2%. Markets are currently waiting for the release of the minutes of the United States Federal Reserve’s January meeting, which will give investors an insight on whether the institution is planning to raise interest rates.