Energy stocks fuel market rally, Nifty tops 10,600-mark

Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 3.70 per cent, while the BSE Energy index outperformed all other sectoral indices by a wide margin.

The BSE Sensex rallied 165.87 to settle at 34,616.64 and the NSE Nifty ended 29.65 points higher at 10,614.35.

An appreciating rupee, unabated buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and encouraging earnings by blue-chips also contributed to the uptrend, brokers said. 

Overseas, Asian markets closed mostly higher even as oil prices crossed USD 75 a barrel, the highest level since November 2014, pushed up by expectations of renewed US sanctions against Iran and OPEC continuing to crimp supplies. 

The BSE 30-share Sensex took off on a positive note at 34,491.38 and advanced to the day's high of 34,706.71 before ending at 34,616.64, up 165.87 points, or 0.48 per cent.

The gainers included Yes Bank, M&M, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, L&T, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy's and ONGC.

The NSE Nifty, after shuttling between 10,636.80 and 10,569, finally settled 29.65 points, or 0.28 per cent higher at 10,614.35.

However, the gains were capped by selling pressure in metals, IT, teck, power, consumer durables and PSU stocks.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 387.26 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 259.08 crore yesterday, provisional data released by the stock exchanges showed. 

"Market extended gains backed by index heavyweights while correction in metals and IT were due to ease in sanctions by US and tightening of H1-B visa procedure. 

"Investors are likely to be cautious amid surging oil prices but any green shoots from corporate results and stability in yield will determine the market direction," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

In the Sensex gainers' list, RIL was followed by Yes Bank (3.31 per cent), M&M (1.94 per cent) and Adani Ports (1.74 per cent).

Other winners were ICICI Bank 1.66 per cent, HDFC 1.31 per cent, L&T 1.25 per cent, Bajaj Auto 1.25 per cent, ONGC 0.94 per cent, Coal India 0.81 per cent and Sun Pharma 0.67 per cent.

Bharti Airtel also ended 0.61 per cent higher while IDFC Bank dropped 1.24 per cent ahead of their Q4 results.

Dr Reddy's Labs rose 1.05 per cent after the company said it has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the USFDA for its API Mirfield plant in the UK.

On the other hand, Wipro fell 3.30 per cent, Infosys 2.49 per cent, Tata Steel 1.23 per cent, SBI 0.87 per cent, TCS 0.87 per cent, Kotak Bank 0.73 per cent, Tata Motors 0.58 per cent, Asian Paints 0.51 per cent, Power Grid 0.41 per cent, NTPC 0.37 per cent and Axis Bank 0.24 per cent.

Sector-wise, energy index surged 2.39 per cent, followed by oil and gas by 1.50 per cent, capital goods 0.65 per cent, infrastructure 0.51 per cent, healthcare 0.45 per cent, bankex 0.40 per cent, auto 0.39 per cent and FMCG 0.10 per cent.

However, the metal index tumbled 1.82 per cent as aluminium prices continued to fall after the US softened its stance on sanctions against Russian metals giant United Company Rusal.

Nalco, Hindalco, Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc, SAIL and NMDC were among the top losers in the BSE metal index, diving by up to 7.54 per cent.

Other sectoral indices such as teck, consumer durables, power and PSU declined up to 1.48 per cent.

Bucking the trend, the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.13 per cent while the mid-cap index inched down 0.02 per cent.

International oil prices hit their highest levels since late 2014, pushed up by expectations of renewed US sanctions against Iran and as OPEC continues withholding supplies amid strong demand.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, climbed 0.70 per cent to USD 75.23, levels not seen since November 2014.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at USD 69.27 a barrel, up 0.92 per cent.

However, shares of oil marketing companies ended higher. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd rose 0.62 per cent, Hindustan Petroleum Corp 0.61 per cent and Indian Oil Corp 0.96 per cent.

Asian markets mostly finished higher even as overnight weakness at Wall Street amid a decline in tech shares and rising US bond yields weighed on investor sentiment.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.26 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.99 per cent and Japan's Nikkei ended 0.86 per cent higher.

European stock markets also rose modestly at open as investors monitored the latest batch of corporate earnings. Paris CAC inched up 0.06 per cent, while Frankfurt's DAX traded higher by 0.48 per cent. London's FTSE too was up 0.47 per cent.