India's stock benchmarks began the new year on a positive note. Both the S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 logged the biggest single day gain in over three weeks, aided by banks, information technology and auto stocks.
The Sensex rose 1.60% to 59,183.22. This is the first time since Dec. 13 that the 30-stock gauge rose above 59,000. The Nifty 50 index also advanced by similar magnitude to 17,625.70.