Sensex marks new high; ONGC leads gains

By Jessica Kuruthukulangara

REUTERS - Indian equity indexes hit all-time highs on Monday as Reliance Industries rallied after posting a record quarterly profit, while Oil and Natural Gas Ltd gained after saying it would buy a majority stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd.

ONGC shares jumped as much as 6.3 percent to their highest in nearly a year after the explorer said it would buy a majority stake in state-run refiner HPCL for $5.8 billion, with analysts saying the premium paid was smaller than expected.

Meanwhile, Reliance gained as much as 2.5 percent after the company posted a record net profit in the third quarter after its telecoms business, Jio, turned in a profit for the first time.

 

Indian shares have been on a record-setting run, bolstered by a string of positive corporate results and recent government measures, including a cut in the goods and services tax for certain sectors.

"Overall, the mood seems to be quite positive with some buying emerging at lower levels," said Krish Subramanyam, co-head - equity advisor at Altamount Capital.

The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.16 percent at 10,912.35 as of 0645 GMT after earlier rising as much as 0.32 percent to a record high of 10,929.85.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.35 percent higher at 35,636.98. The index had gained 0.53 percent earlier in the session to hit a record high of 35,700.72.

Energy companies were among the top gainers, with the Nifty energy index climbing as much as 1.9 percent, its second straight session of gains.

However, investors booked profits in recent outperformers such as ICICI Bank Ltd which lost as much as 2.5 percent after gaining in the last six sessions. ITC Ltd snapped a three-day gaining streak to trade 0.9 percent lower.

Wipro Ltd slid as much as 3.6 percent after the software services exporter on Friday posted an 8.5 percent drop in third-quarter profit on one-off provisions.

(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)