A sharp fall in crude prices and expectations of a decisive outcome from the EGoM (empowered group of ministers) meeting on fuel prices have led to massive gains for the Indian markets. The benchmark indices closed near the day's high, rising nearly 3 per cent. The Sensex rose 513.19 points to 18,240.68 and the Nifty advanced 151.25 points to 5,471.25. Overnight, the International Energy Agency, led by the US, said it will sell 60 million barrels of crude from strategic reserve in a bid to ease prices. However, analysts remained cautious despite bullish trade. Daljeet Kohli of IndiaNivesh Securities said this surge is not a game-changer because a lot of clarity still has to come. "Crude prices have gone down and that is a good thing but its impact over period is speculative," Kohli said. Prabhat Awasthi of Nomura India said a runaway rally in Indian markets was unlikely because global growth continued to be a drag. However, from India’s perspective a global slowdown is not bad because commodity prices come down when global growth comes off, he added. Banking, IT and capital goods stocks drove the markets higher, rising over 3 per cent. High beta stocks - metals and realty - gained 3.5-4 per cent. Consumer durables stocks were the only ones under selling pressure. OMC (oil marketing companies) stocks surged ahead of the EGoM on fuel prices. HPCL climbed over 6 per cent, BPCL rose nearly 3 per cent and IOC advanced over 2.5 per cent. Airline stocks zoomed because of falling crude. Jet Airways surged 14 per cent and SpiceJet closed 20 per cent higher. Kingfisher advanced 8 per cent. However, refiners saw some selling pressure as their margins would be hit because of falling prices. Reliance ended flat. Lanco Infra tanked 10 per cent after the company was dragged into a Australian $3.5 billion law suit. Titan Industries continued to slide, falling over 5 per cent. On the Sensex, 28 of the 30 stocks ended higher. Hero Honda was the top gainer, rising over 6 per cent. SBI advanced 6 per cent. Jaiprakash Associates, HDFC and L&T gained 4-5 per cent. Reliance Infra fell nearly 1 per cent. 88 per cent stocks advanced on the BSE 500 index indicating strong breadth for the markets. The decision on oil prices had a positive effect on global markets. The Dow closed off the intraday lows, falling nearly 60 points to 12,050. The market fell 240 points in early trade after jobless claims rose suggesting a rise in unemployment rate. Almost all Asian markets closed higher on Friday. The Hang Seng closed 2 per cent higher. South Korea's Kospi gained over 1.5 per cent and Japan's Nikkei rose 0.85 per cent. Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/sensex-regains-18k-rises-500-points-on-falling-crude-161709?ch=rknwrlk&cp

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