Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 400 points in early trade on Monday, tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC and Bajaj Finance amid positive cues from global markets.

After touching a lifetime high of 56,527.81 in the opening session, the 30-share index was trading 376.65 points or 0.67 per cent higher at 56,501.37. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 100.95 points or 0.60 per cent to 16,806.15.

Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, M&M, Maruti, L&T, Reliance Industries and HDFC.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE index settled 175.62 points or 0.31 per cent higher at 56,124.72, and Nifty gained 68.30 points or 0.41 per cent to finish at a record 16,705.20.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 778.75 crore on Friday, as per provisional exchange data.

Domestic equities look to be good as of now, said Binod Modi, Head of Strategy at Reliance Securities.

"No mention about actual time frame for reversal of $120 billion monthly asset purchase programme by US Fed chief Jerome Powell and indications of no interest rate hike in the medium term essentially show that taper tantrum is still not in the sight in the near term, which augurs well for global equities," he noted.

US equities were upbeat last week with all three key indices in the US recording weekly gains to the tune of 1-2.8 per cent, Modi added.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has declared that the number of active Covid-19 cases in the country has increased to 3,76,324. A single-day rise of 42,909 new infections and 380 fatalities has pushed India's tally of cases to 3,27,37,939 and death toll to 4,38,210.

In Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with gains in mid-session deals.