Nifty, Sensex jump as crude slips, rupee extends recovery

By Chris Thomas

(Reuters) - Indian shares climbed on Friday in line with broader Asia and were set for their best week since May 2016, as crude prices fell and the rupee extended gains to touch a one-month high.

The broader NSE Nifty rose as much as 1.8 percent to 10,569.05 and was trading at 10,552.1 by 0519 GMT. The benchmark BSE Sensex was 1.5 percent higher at 34,960.42.

"Macros have shown improvement, and sentiment is slowly improving as well," said Anita Gandhi, whole-time director, Arihant Capital Markets.

Asian shares rose on hopes of a thaw in trade tensions between the United States and China.

The rupee continued its recovery into a second session and firmed up 0.9 percent to 72.78 against the dollar as oil prices slipped on surging output by the world's three largest producers.

India meets most of its energy requirement through oil imports and easing crude oil prices benefit the rupee.

Oil marketing companies cheered lower crude prices, with Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd climbing between 4.1-5.8 percent.

Auto stocks were boosted by a solid set of October sales numbers. The Nifty Auto Index jumped 3.7 percent to a more than two-week high.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd rose 4.6 percent while Bajaj Auto Ltd climbed 3.9 percent to a four-week high after posting a 32.5 percent jump in October sales.

Oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, up 2 percent, and Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd, up 2.2 percent, were the biggest contributors to the NSE index.

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)