HDFC, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries were the biggest boosts to SensexDomestic stock markets jumped on Thursday amid broad-based gains, a day after the government allowed states to reopen movie theatres at 50 per cent capacity and said schools and educational institutions could restart in a phased manner.

The S-P BSE Sensex index surged 640.27 points - or 1.68 per cent - to touch 38,708.20 at the strongest level of the day, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 11,424.65, up 177.1 points - or 1.57 per cent - from its previous close.

Gains across sectors - led by financial, automobile and metal shares - pushed the markets higher. (Track Sensex, Nifty Here)At 1:04 pm, the Sensex traded 569.82 points - or 1.50 per cent - higher at 38,637.75, while the Nifty was up 157.80 points - or 1.40 per cent - at 11,405.35.IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, trading between 3.69 per cent and 6.67 per cent higher, were the top gainers in the Nifty basket of 50 shares.

On the other hand, ONGC and Dr Reddy's - down 1.08 per cent and 0.69 per cent respectively - were the worst hit among eight laggards in the index.ICICI Bank, HDFC and HDFC were the biggest boosts to Sensex.The Nifty Bank Index - which tracks shares of 12 major lenders in the country - soared as much as 3.16 per cent during the session, led by ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank.

 Bucking the trend, Punjab National Bank shares fell 3.15 per cent to an intraday low of Rs 27.65 apiece on the BSE, a day after the state-run lender reported a fraud of Rs 1,203.26 crore to the Reserve Bank of India.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, PNB said it had already made provisions of Rs.

215.21 crore, as per prescribed norms. The country's current account surplus rose to a record $19.8 billion in April-June as its trade deficit narrowed sharply, Reserve Bank of India data showed on Wednesday.

Its financial markets will remain shut on Friday, October 2, for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti. Analysts awaited an update on the RBI's bi-monthly policy review, after the central bank said on Monday it was postponing its meeting what was scheduled between September 29 and October 1.The Supreme Court will hear a case on waiving interest rates on loans under a moratorium on October 5.