Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty started on a positive note on Monday, driven by gains in financial and IT shares.

The BSE Sensex jumped 238.75 points or 0.64 per cent to trade at 37,258.89; and the NSE Nifty rose 79.15 points or 0.73 per cent to 10,980.85 in opening deals.

Financial and IT stocks primarily drove the rally on indices in early trade.

On the Sensex, the prominent gainers were HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, Infosys and Axis Bank.

On Friday, the BSE Sensex had ended 548 points or 1.5 per cent higher at 37,020 and the NSE Nifty had gained 162 points or 1.5 per cent to close at 10,902.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) had bought equities worth Rs 697.08 crore on a net basis on Friday, exchange data showed.

Meanwhile, other Asian markets, barring Shanghai, were trading mostly lower.

Experts said that global markets will remain cautious amid spurt in the number of Covid-19 cases world over.

Oil prices dipped on Monday, weighed down by rising coronavirus infections that could derail a recovery in fuel demand.

Brent crude was down 0.56 per cent, at USD 42.88 a barrel.

The total number of coronaivrus cases in the country has surpassed 11 lakh and death toll has topped 27,000.

Globally, 14,633,412 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19, and 608,542 have died, data showed.