From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 04:31 PM IST

Indian equities markets closed higher Monday, with a key index soaring in the last hour to end trade near its nine-month high.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 14,746.51 points, ended at 14,850.62 points (provisional) - 225.37 points or 1.54 percent above Friday's close.

The S and amp;P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) followed the Sensex to end in the green, rising 1.89 percent to 4,532.85 points.

Broader market indices did better, with the BSE midcap index gaining 2.98 percent and the BSE smallcap index ending 3.55 percent up.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)