Sensex, Nifty rise for sixth session; remain near 1-1/2 month highs

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex and Nifty rose for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday as oil explorers such as ONGC rose, tracking a rebound in crude prices, while auto makers such as Mahindra & Mahindra gained on hopes the upcoming festive season would boost sales.

The Sensex rose 0.38 percent to 27,035.85. The Nifty added 0.3 percent to 8,177.40. Both indexes earlier hit their highest since Aug. 21.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp rose 4.2 percent, while Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd added 1.9 percent.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi and Rafael Nam; Editing by Anand Basu)