Indian shares rose for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday as oil explorers such as ONGC rose, tracking a rebound in crude prices, while auto makers such as Mahindra & Mahindra gained on hopes the upcoming festive season would boost sales. The benchmark BSE index rose 0.38 percent to 27,035.85. The broader NSE index added 0.3 percent to 8,177.40. Both indexes earlier hit their highest since August 21. Oil and Natural Gas Corp rose 4.2 percent, while Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd added 1.9 percent.
Gains also tracked higher Asian stocks which hit a seven-week high on Wednesday as oil prices showed some signs of life, supporting battered resource shares and emerging economy currencies. The upcoming earnings reporting season with Infosys due to post July-September results on October 12, and macro data including inflation, industrial output next week would be key domestic data points to watch in the near term. "Margin expansion would continues to benefit mid-caps in September quarter results while macro data points would continue to showcase marginal improvements," said G Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics, a Mumbai-based research and fund advisory firm.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp rose 2.5 percent, Cairn India gained 3.8 percent, Vedanta was up 5.7 percent while Oil India was 2.4 percent higher. Among auto stocks, Maruti Suzuki rose 1.8 percent and Bajaj Auto gained 2 percent. Tata Motors rose 1.8 percent, heading towards a fifth day of gains in six, on data and news pointing towards likely improvement in business prospects in India and abroad. ' However, power sector lenders fell for a second consecutive session on profit-taking after Monday's sharp surge on hopes the government would soon announce power distributors' restructuring. Power Finance Corp fell 2.3 percent while Rural Electrification Corp lost 2.9 percent.