Market benchmark BSE Sensex rallied 359 points to 60,131 in the opening trade of the special Muhurat session on Thursday to mark the beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2078.

The 30-share index was trading higher by 358.92 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 60,130.84 in the first few minutes of trade.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 108.50 points or 0.61 per cent to 17,937.40.

All BSE sectoral indices were in the green, led by auto, consumer durables, bankex and oil and gas.

Brokers said buying activity gathered momentum as investors opened their books on the first session of Samvat 2078.

All Sensex stocks were trading in the positive zone.

M&M led the gainers' pack, spurting 2.76 per cent, followed by ITC, Kotak Bank, L&T, SBI, Bajaj Auto and Nestle India.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 401.48 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors bought to the tune of Rs 195.55 crore, as per exchange data.