Sensex Jumps Amid Crude Price Decline and Reliance Buying

Stock markets in India began Thursday with modest gains, driven by lower crude oil prices and buying in Reliance Industries. The Sensex, a benchmark index of 30 leading companies, rose 201.43 points to 78,782.43 in early trade. The Nifty, another key gauge, was marginally higher at 24,641.

The gains come amid a new auction mechanism for shares with futures and options contracts introduced by the stock exchanges on Monday. The Closing Auction Session (CAS) aims to make price discovery more transparent and robust. Some of the major winners in the Sensex pack included Titan, Reliance Industries, Eternal, Bharat Electronics, State Bank of India, and Asian Paints.

Brent crude oil prices traded 0.13% lower at $79.35 per barrel on Thursday. The Reserve Bank of India maintained its benchmark policy rate at 5.25% for the fourth consecutive meeting on Wednesday, citing data dependency for future decisions.