Indian shares scaled back from record highs on Friday but still clocked their sixth consecutive week of gains, as Oil and Natural Gas Corp rose on the back of higher crude prices and a Morgan Stanley stock upgrade.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.26% to 13,513.85 while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.3% higher at 46,099.01. Both the indexes finished the week around 2% higher, capping a recent rally alongside global peers on news of progress in coronavirus vaccines.
ONGC, which has lost nearly a third of its market value this year, gained nearly 14% after Brent rose above $50 for the first time since March, as coronavirus vaccination rollouts fed hopes demand for crude would rebound next year. The stock gave up some gains to end 5.5% higher.
Morgan Stanley upgraded ONGC's stock to "overweight" from "equal weight" and raised its target price to 115 rupees from 84 rupees.
"Global demand recovery for both oil and gas, consolidation in the global refining industry and opportunity to reverse the past decade of return decline after the COVID-led shock to oil companies give us confidence," Morgan Stanley said in a note.
The Nifty Energy Index was up 1.6% at an all-time high. Electricity firm NTPC Ltd jumped 5.4% to a late-August closing high.
Heavyweight private-sector lender ICICI Bank Ltd advanced 1.7% and was the top boost to the main stock indexes.
Sentiment was also underpinned by data showing a steady decline in new coronavirus cases in India - the country with the second-highest caseload - where daily infections have dipped after hitting a peak in September.
MSCI's ex-Japan Asia-Pacific index was marginally higher on hopes of stronger economic growth next year as more countries prepare for vaccinations, although European peers and U.S. futures fell amid uncertainty around U.S. fiscal stimulus talks and Brexit negotiations.
