The benchmark Sensex on Wednesday rallied by 2.42 per cent, aided by the 10.3 per cent rally in Reliance Industries (RIL) which signed a deal with Facebook for the sale of 9.99 per cent stake in RIL’s subsidiary Jio Platforms for Rs 43,547 crore ($5.7 billion). The 30-share Sensex rose 742.84 points to 31,379.55, while the NSE Nifty jumped 205.85 points, or 2.29 per cent, to 9,187.30. The rupee, meanwhile, hit 76.91 at day’s low before closing 15 paise up at 76.68 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil rebounded from two days of losses and US futures surged on Wednesday, bolstered by tentative discussions of additional supply cuts from OPEC producers and US inventory builds that were less dire than some anticipated. As of 1720 GMT, Brent was up $1.54, or 8 per cent, at $20.87 a barrel. Intra-day, it had fallen to $15.98, its lowest since June 1999. US WTI crude futures for June delivery rose $3.09, or 26.7 per cent, to $14.66 a barrel. On Monday, US futures had closed at a record minus $37.63 a barrel. —With Reuters
