ICICI Bank, RIL lead gains as Sensex climbs to record closing highs

Indian shares climbed to record closing highs on Monday, led by strong gains in heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd, while investor focus turned to a central bank policy meeting later this week.

The benchmark BSE Sensex closed up 0.42 percent at 37,494.4, after hitting a life-high of 37,533.50 earlier in the session.

The broader NSE Nifty ended 0.37 percent higher at 11,319.55, closing above 11,300 for the first time.

ICICI Bank closed 4.88 percent higher and contributed to over a fifth of the NSE index's gains. Reliance ended 1.96 percent higher.

Axis Bank Ltd closed 2.85 percent higher ahead of June-quarter results later in the day while Bharti Airtel Ltd ended 5.68 percent firmer.