Oil & gas index at a nine-year peak

Analysts expect oil cos to report strong earnings in Dec led by inventory gains, recovery in margins

The BSE Oil & Gas index continued to rise in the first week of 2017, gaining 3.4 per cent to reach its highest level in nine years.

The index surged 25 per cent in the second half of last year, even as the benchmark indices remained flat during that period. A rally of up to 50 per cent in stocks such as Indraprastha Gas, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in the past six months has led the gains, supported by a global rally in oil prices following