Indian shares closed at their highest level in six weeks on Monday led by blue chips such as Larsen and Toubro, which gained after the company signed an agreement with France's Areva for nuclear power projects, while firm cues across the region also helped.
The benchmark BSE index closed 0.57 percent higher at 29,044.44 points, while the broader NSE index gained 0.61 percent to 8,834 points. Both indexes closed at their highest level since March 3.
Indian markets will be closed for a public holiday on Tuesday.
Overall sentiment remained positive as markets across the region gained as weak Chinese trade data intensified expectations for more economic stimulus measures from Beijing.
Investors will keenly watch consumer inflation numbers, due later in the day. Consumer prices likely rose to 5.5 percent in March from a year earlier compared with February's 5.37 percent, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
Corporate earnings, expected to start this week, will be the next medium-term trigger for the markets, analysts said.
"I think markets will trade in a range with a positive bias. Earnings and policy decisions will continue to be the key drivers. We are bullish, especially in infrastructure and power sectors," said Suresh Parmar, head, institutional equities at KJMC Capital Markets.
Infrastructure stocks such as Larsen and Toubro led the gains. L&T gained 1.9 percent after it signed an MoU with France's Areva SA for the Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra.
Shares in Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd gained 2.6 percent after it said it commissioned a 600 MW thermal power project in Chhattisgarh.
Shares in NMDC gained as much as 3.1 percent after India's largest investor, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), raised stake to 10.12 percent.
However, Gail India Ltd fell 2.8 percent after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to "underperform" from "neutral".
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