Investors firmly rallied behind the recently-battered domestic oil & gas exploration shares, with several counters surging up to 6 percent, thereby outperforming the broad market sentiment that has stayed upbeat since early trades. At 12.55 pm, shares of Cairn India were up nearly 6 percent to Rs 148, ONGC rose 5.6 percent to Rs 243.60, GAIL gained 4.3 percent to Rs 292.95, Oil India moved up 3 percent to Rs 469 and Reliance Industries was up 1.1 percent at Rs 878.80. In comparison, BSE Oil & Gas index rose 1.7 percent to 8926.93, outperforming BSE Sensex which gained 1.5 percent at 26,632.53. Tracking recovery in the US markets and upturn in Chinese markets in last coupled of sessions, the global crude prices, too, has strengthened encouraging local investors to lap up shares of exploration companies. From a low of $42.23 a barrel touched on August 24, the Brent crude has jumped 13 percent to trade at $48.43 in today's trades so far. On Friday, the Brent Crude has risen 2 percent so far after an upward revision in the US economic growth in the second quarter boosted sentiment. In tandem with the recovery in global crude prices, shares of domestic oil exploration, too, notched up significant gains in last four session, including today's gains so far. In last four sessions starting August 25, shares of Cairn India flared up 20 percent, Oil India shot up 9.4 percent, Essar Oil surged 9 percent, ONGC rose 7.2 percent and Reliance Industries gained 6 percent during the period. Contrary to a rather sluggish broad market sentiment, shares of oil exploration companies faced severe downturn in last two months, thanks to outbreak of Chinese economic slowdown and spate of poor data which triggered relentless fall in crude and other global commodity prices. In view of the falling crude prices, investors hammered oil stocks which saw Cairn India tumbled 32.5 percent in two months, ONGC crash 28 percent, Reliance Industries declined 16 percent and Oil India ease 9 percent during the period under review.

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