Sensex rallies 181 points, Nifty reclaims 8,800-mark

Mumbai: Market benchmark Sensex surged over 181 points and the NSE Nifty reclaimed the 8,800-mark Thursday after global markets cheered a surprise deal by OPEC to cut oil production for the first time in eight years.

Short-covering of bets with today being the last session of September expiry in the derivatives segment kept the momentum on.

The 30-share index, which had gained 69.11 points in the previous session, rallied by 181.31 points, or 0.64 percent, at 28,474.12.

Oil and gas, realty, PSU, auto and metal stocks were in a sweet spot, which gave the sentiment a lift.

The NSE index Nifty was also trading higher 55.50 points, or 0.63 percent, at 8,800.65.

Brokers said the mood was markedly buoyant, bolstered by a flurry of buying following a firming trend in global markets after a surprise deal by OPEC to slash oil output and lift prices.

Globally, Brent crude for November added 22 cents to USD 48.91 a barrel.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.29 percent, Japan's Nikkei gained 1.42 percent while Shanghai Composite index edged higher 0.60 percent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.61 percent up yesterday.