Resuming its upmove after a day's breather, equity benchmark Sensex rallied 409 points on Thursday, tracking gains in index-heavyweights HDFC twins and Reliance Industries amid positive cues from overseas markets.

After touching a peak of 36,806.30 during the day, the 30-share index settled 408.68 points, or 1.12 per cent, higher at 36,737.69.

The NSE Nifty jumped 107.70 points, or 1.01 per cent, to finish at 10,813.45.

Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting around 4 per cent, followed by SBI, Tata Steel, HDFC, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech and M&M.

On the other hand, ONGC, Tech Mahindra, TCS, HUL and Maruti were among the laggards.

According to Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi, Indian markets opened on a positive note following upbeat Asian cues as positive economic data from China added to the momentum.

During afternoon session, the benchmarks scaled crucial levels as sentiments remained firm, he added.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with significant gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe too opened on a positive note.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures inched up 0.05 per cent to USD 43.31 per barrel.

On the currency front, the rupee settled 3 paise higher at 74.99 against the US dollar.