Opening Bell: Sensex jumps over 350 points, Nifty50 firm above 16,550; Tata Steel, HCL Tech jump 2%

Among blue-chip stocks, Hindalco, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, HCL Tech, SBI and L&T -- trading between 1.28 percent and 2.24 percent higher -- were the top gainers.

On the other hand, HUL, Tata Consumer and Power Grid -- down between 0.14 percent and 0.67 percent -- were among the five laggards in the Nifty50 universe.

Midcap and smallcap indices also jumped, in line with headline gauges, as Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 were up around 1 percent each in early deals.

"Globally, the focus of markets will be the outcome of the Jackson Hole symposium and indications regarding Taper 2.0. The crash in Brent crude to around $65 augurs well for India's macros, particularly concerns regarding inflation. This is a shot in the arm for the majority dovish view in the MPC, which has prioritized growth over inflation. The short term trade setting is Advantage Bulls," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, equities in other Asian markets rose cautiously following last week's thrashing as concerns about the pandemic showed little sign of abating.

A raft of manufacturing surveys for August out on Monday will offer an early indication of how global growth is faring in the face of the Delta variant, with analysts expecting some slippage and especially in Asia.

Concerns over China's economy have only intensified in recent weeks, while Beijing's regulatory crackdown on the tech sector delivered a double blow to markets.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, which sank 4.8 percent last week to a nine-month low, rose 0.2 percent but the gains looked fragile. Japan's Nikkei 225 index, which tanked 3.4 percent last week to its lowest since January, bounced back 1.2 percent on Monday.