New Delhi, May 30 (IANS): Domestic equity indices extended their gains from the previous week and settled sharply higher on Monday, led by strong buying in IT, media, realty, PSU banks, among others, as inflation in the US seemed to have peaked in April.

Inflation, as reported by the US Federal Reserve, rose 6.3 per cent in April from a year earlier, which is a notch below a four-decade high the country reported in March. It is reportedly the first slowdown since late 2020.

Back home, Sensex closed Monday's trade at 55,926 points, up 1,041 points or 1.9 per cent, whereas Nifty at 16,669 points, was up 316 points or 1.9 per cent.

Also, a relative strength in Indian rupee too have supported the benchmark indices on Monday, said analysts.

"The broader markets too mirrored the same trend with both the Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 2 per cent in today's trade. We did witness keen interest in footwear, quick service restaurants, and realty stocks with many of them recording smart up-moves," said S. Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities.

Continuing with the weak listing streak in Dalal Street, shares of luxury watch brand Ethos listed on the exchanges with a discount of over 6 per cent from its issue price of Rs 878 per share on Monday. It closed the day at Rs 801, down 8.7 per cent.