The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index, Sensex, on Monday gained 153 points on fresh buying sparked by easing inflation and rising exports.

Snapping three days of losses, the Sensex closed higher by 152.80 points at 20,309.69. The key index had lost over 775 points in previous three trading sessions.

In similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed higher by 49.95 points to 6,121.60, after moving between 6,128.75 and 6,039.40.

The upsurge was mostly supported by stocks of State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Cipla, Mahindra and Mahindra and Tata Steel which gained in the range of 1-4 per cent.

The firming trend was, however, somewhat checked by market leader Reliance Industries which lost Rs 7.85 at Rs 1,054, Reliance Infra Rs 17.75 at Rs 1,029.60 and Maruti Suzuki Rs 15.15 at Rs 1,440 DLF Rs 5.50 at Rs 322.05.

The banking sector index gained the most by 2.43 per cent to 14,509.60. Healthcare index was the second best performer at 1.07 per cent to 6,655.70.

The information technologies sector index also rose by 0.86 per cent to end the day at 6,098.94.