MUMBAI: The benchmark Sensex shot up by over 281 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday on buying by funds in heavyweight stocks such as Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel.

The Sensex gained 281.60 points to close at 16,845.83, a level never seen before. It touched an intra-day high of 16,869.64 and a low of 16,599.66 points.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty spurted by 94.65 points to 4,932.20, after rising to 4,941.15 and dipping to 4,837.15 points.

Buying activity picked up on reports of the Hong Kong index Hang Sang crossing the 26,000-point level for the first time.