Indian stocks rose on Monday, with the blue-chip Sensex hitting a record high, aided by gains in oil marketing companies as crude prices slid following protests in major Chinese cities against strict zero-COVID policies.
The benchmark Indian indexes had opened lower, mirroring the weakness in other Asian markets due to worries about the protests in China over strict Covid-19 curbs. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index shed 1.41%.
But Indian shares reversed course as oil futures fell more than $2 a barrel as the protests in top importer China fuelled demand concerns. Oil-importing countries like India tend to benefit from lower crude prices.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.31% to a record high of 62,484.67. The NSE Nifty 50 index jumped 0.25% to a fresh 52-week high of 18,565.95, around 40 points shy of its all-time high.
The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 outperformed their larger peers, rising 0.72% and 1.12%, respectively. The Nifty oil and gas index rose over 1.5%.
"Positive catalysts such as falling crude oil prices and U.S. dollar index could keep the markets in good stead," said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president (research) at Mehta Equities.
{{/usCountry}}"Positive catalysts such as falling crude oil prices and U.S. dollar index could keep the markets in good stead," said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president (research) at Mehta Equities.
{{/usCountry}}Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company, was the biggest boost to the Nifty, climbing 2.6% to its highest since mid-June, after an initial 4.4% slump.
The oil-to-chemicals conglomerate also helped lift the energy index along with Indian Oil Corp and Oil India Ltd.
Hero Motocorp rose 3.5% to an over two-month high after announcing a price hike on its motorcycles and scooters from Dec. 1 to offset costs related to inflation.
Meanwhile, a Reuters poll showed the Indian economy likely returned to a more normal 6.2% annual growth rate in the quarter ended September, after clocking double-digit expansion in the previous quarter. India's GDP data is due on Wednesday.