Sensex, Nifty Open Higher After Oil Price Crash

(RTTNews) - Indian shares opened higher in early trade on Wednesday following a dramatic decline in crude oil prices.

Investors also cheered preliminary data showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) became net purchasers on July 5 for the first time since May 30.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 170 points, or 0.3 percent, to 53,303 despite weak global cues. The broader NSE Nifty index was up 60 points, or 0.4 percent, at 15,870.

Asian Paints rose over 2 percent after oil prices slumped 8 percent to drift below $100 a barrel for the first time since May on fears that a recession will hit global demand for fuel.

Bajaj Finance jumped 2.2 percent after an impressive Q1 update.

BPCL, Mahindra & Mahindra and Eicher Motor were up 1-2 percent while commodity stocks were seeing declines across the board. JSW Steel, Coal India, Tata Steel, ONGC and Hindalco lost 2-5 percent.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company edged up slightly after reducing its shareholding in Westlife Development.

Adani Power was moving lower. The company is seeking shareholder approval for the proposed related-party transaction worth up to Rs 5,000 crore with AdaniConnex.

NTPC fell more than 1 percent. The state-run power major said that its coal output grew by 61 percent year-on-year in the April-June quarter.