Sensex scales lifetime high amid drop in oil prices; closes at 36,548

India best-performing market in 2018 with a gain of 7%; previous all-time high was on Jan 29

Sharp gains in index-heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL), along with positive global cues, propelled the benchmark Sensex to a lifetime high on Thursday.

Domestic investors also cheered the 7 per cent fall — the biggest single-day drop in two years — in global crude oil prices, a key macro headwind for India.

The Sensex climbed 282.5 points, or 0.8 per cent, to close at 36,548, surpassing its previous all-time high of 36,283 on January 29. The Nifty50 index reclaimed the 11,000 mark, but closed 1 per cent short of its record high at 11,023. Both the indices logged their fifth straight session of