Sensex surges 392 points on oil & gas reforms, BJP's stellar show

Mumbai - The benchmark BSE Sensex spurted by over 392 points in opening trade on Monday on a rally by oil & gas and PSU stocks after the government on Saturday deregulated diesel prices and BJP stormed to power in Haryana and is all set to form government in Maharashtra.

Besides, a firming trend at other Asian markets following weekend sharp gains in US on the back of upbeat earnings, buoyed the sentiments here.

The 30-share Sensex zoomed by 392.51 points, or 1.50 percent, to trade at 26,501.04. The gauge had gained 109.19 points in Friday's trade.

All the sectoral indices, led by PSU and oil & gas, were trading in the positive territory with gains up to 2.83 percent.

The 50-share NSE Nifty, reclaimed the 7,800-mark by soaring 103.70 points, or 1.33 percent, to 7,883.40.

Brokers said sentiments turned bullish on the back of oil and gas reforms announced by the government and BJP's stellar show in the Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra.

In the oils and gas segment, stocks of ONGC climbed 5.26 percent, GAIL (2.04 percent) and Oil India Ltd (2.27 percent).

Meanwhile, in a major reform push, the government on Saturday deregulated diesel prices but hiked natural gas tariff by 46 percent that will push up fertiliser, power, CNG and PNG rates.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.94 percent while Japan's Nikkei gained 3.34 percent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.63 percent in Friday's trade. (PTI)