India’s benchmark indices – the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex and National Stock Exchange’s Nifty – were at record levels during early trade on Thursday following a firming of global cues and a fall in prices of crude oil.
BSE Sensex hit a record high of 36,540, surpassing its previous high of 36,444 recorded on January 29, 2018 in intra-day deals.
In broader markets, the Nifty50 index crossed the 11,000 mark for the first time since February 1, 2018, with oil refining and marketing companies – HPCL, BPCL and IOC – rallying over 4% each in morning trade.
This was due to Brent crude oil’s biggest one-day drop in two years on Wednesday. It fell US$5.46 to $73.40 a barrel. US crude also fell $3.73 to $70.38 a barrel.
Aviation and tire stock also advanced following softening crude prices. InterGlobe Aviation, SpiceJet and Jet Airways all gained up to 4%.
The domestic market sentiment was also upbeat with the World Bank putting the Indian economy ahead of France in terms of GDP in 2017, making it the world’s sixth biggest economy.