Sensex rises 373 points, Nifty settles above 10,600

India's benchmark stock indices advanced about 1 per cent on Monday, as investors stepped up equity purchases after a string of declines last week.

Firm Asian cues, and a persistent decline in global crude oil prices also buoyed investor sentiment, sending the Sensex over 370 points higher, while the broader Nifty topped the 10,600-mark.

Buying was witnessed in the FMCG and consumer durables stocks. The index pivotals -- finance and banking -- were 1.32 per cent and 1 per cent higher, respectively.

Export-oriented stocks like IT gained while the healthcare traded lower.

The Sensex settled up 373.06 points or 1.07 per cent at 35,354.08, from its previous close of 34,981.02. It touched an intra-day high of 35,397.24 and a low of 34,896.07.

The Nifty50 lost 101.85 points or 0.97 per cent to finish at 10,628.60.

The overall market breadth was negative, with 1,067 stocks advancing and 1,536 declining on account of a 0.15 per cent fall in the small-caps.

Hero MotoCorp closed with over 4 per cent gains, emerging as the top gainer on the Sensex, while Hindustan Unilever and Wipro advanced over 3 per cent each. Yes Bank settled as the top loser, closing 5 per cent lower. It was followed by ONGC.

Crude oil prices traded at $59.74 per barrel while the domestic currency stood at Rs 70.55 per dollar from its previous close of 70.67.

Global crude oil price has guided the markets for the past few weeks after it touched $86-a-barrel mark in early October. The Brent crude oil slipped below $60 in just a month following the US move to let 8 countries, including India and China, continue buying oil for six months from Iran despite its sanctions.

According to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), a change of $1 per barrel in global crude price will impact the country's import bill by Rs 61.6 billion.

--IANS

ravi/shs