Tracking global trend, the benchmark Sensex shot up by 209 points in early morning trade, missing the 18K mark by a whisker, at the Bombay Stock Exchange today on aggressive buying by funds.
The 30-share index rose by 209.23 points to 17,982.59 in the first five minutes of trade, but failed to cross the 18K mark by just 18 points.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange's index Nifty rose by 63.45 points to 5,249.30 supported by a rise in heavy-weight stocks like Reliance Industries, Infosys and Bharti Tele.
Marketmen said firming global trend boosted trading sentiment.
The Hong Kong stock market opened 1.40 per cent higher on Monday following strong gains on Wall Street on Friday, with the major indexes posting gains after the release of a better-than-expected September jobs report, they added.