Sensex, Nifty Reach New Highs; ONGC Rallies Over 5%

(RTTNews) - Indian shares eked out modest gains on Monday to close at record highs, with oil & gas stocks and PSU banks outperforming.

Investors shrugged off data that showed India's wholesale price inflation accelerated further in June to the highest level in nearly one-and-a-half years amid increases in prices in a wide range of categories.

According to provisional data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the wholesale price index, or WPI, rose 3.36 percent year-over-year in June, faster than the 2.61 percent increase in May.

The rate of inflation was the highest since February 2023, when prices had risen 3.85 percent.

The broader NSE Nifty index crossed the 24,600 mark for the first time before finishing higher by 84 points, or 0.35 percent, at 24,587.

The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex ended the session up 145 points, or 0.18 percent, at 80,665.

ONGC topped the gainers list to climb 5.2 percent while Bajaj Auto, SBI, Shriram Finance and SBI Life all rallied around 3 percent.

On the losing side, Tata Steel, Grasim, Asian Paints and LTIMindTree fell 1-2 percent.

Tyre maker MRF rose 1.2 percent after reports that it will hike prices starting July 18. Ceat surged 4.2 percent and JK Tyre soared 6.8 percent.

Vodafone Idea rallied 3.7 percent after the Supreme Court agreed to hear its plea in the AGR case.

Aurobindo Pharma jumped 3.7 percent on share buyback news.

Global cues were mixed as Saturday's shooting at former U.S. President Donald Trump's election rally raised his odds of winning back the White House.

The dollar and bond yields rose on bets that Donald Trump will win the upcoming presidential election.

Gold was subdued while oil prices rose slightly on the back of a volatile situation in the Middle East and expectations surrounding possible Fed rate cuts.