Nifty crosses 15,500 for the first time, Sensex at day's high

The Indian stock market indices jumped higher in Monday's late morning deals after a volatile start, with a major contribution from heavyweight Reliance Industries.

BSE Sensex traded around 51,740 levels, up 300 points and the Nifty50 index logged a fresh lifetime high in intra-day deals and topped the 15,500-mark.

At 12 pm, the 30-share BSE index was trading 352 points or 0.68 per cent higher at 51,774.97 in initial deals, and the broader NSE Nifty jumped 98.25 points or 0.64 per cent to 15,533.90.

Healthy buying was witnessed in oil and gas and energy stocks.

Investors' sentiment has improved in recent days due to a steady decline in daily COVID-19 cases in India. Last week, the country reported its lowest daily rise of cases in more than a month.

In the broader Asian market, shares were trying to extend their recent rally to a third week in the hope that U.S. jobs figures show the expected revival in hiring in May and keep the global recovery on track.

(With inputs from agencies)