Sensex edges up; Reliance Industries leads

By Krishna V Kurup

REUTERS - Indian shares rose a wee bit on Thursday, led by shares of oil refiners such as Reliance Industries Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd as oil prices fell overnight after they hit a more than two-year high earlier in the week.

Oil prices settled slightly lower on Wednesday after U.S. government data showed rising domestic crude production, a surprise build in U.S. stockpiles and a decline in monthly Chinese crude imports, a triple blow that was offset somewhat by rising tensions in the Middle East.

The broader NSE Nifty was 0.12 percent higher at 10,315.55 as of 0550 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 0.13 percent to 33,263.24.

"Markets have started reacting to crude prices," said Krish Subramanyam, co-head - Equity Advisor at Altamount Capital Management.

Energy shares accounted for most of the gains on the Nifty, with the Nifty energy index rising 0.9 percent.

Reliance Industries, which rose 2.1 percent, was the top percentage gainer on both the indexes. Hindustan Petroleum, which is due to report second quarter results later in the day, was 1.7 percent higher.

Petronet LNG Ltd rose as much as 5.6 percent, buoyed by a 28.1 percent increase in Sept-quarter profit.

Adhesives maker Pidilite Industries Ltd climbed 2.8 percent after posting a 9 percent increase in Sept-quarter profit, beating analysts' expectations.

Rising bond yields were, however, dragging banking stocks down, Subramanyam said.

Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd was down 1.8 percent, while IndusInd Bank Ltd traded 0.6 percent lower.

"These are not very good indications for the market. Broadly, market might be heading for some correction," he said.

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)