Equities advanced on Monday, led by heavyweight HDFC Bank on a strong quarterly business update, while lower crude oil prices also aided sentiment.The Nifty rose 0.7% to 24,430, while sensex too climbed 0.7% to 78,285. They rose 2.4% each in four sessions, closing at a 10-week high.A narrowing rainfall deficit, drop in oil prices amid easing West Asia tensions and signs of foreign investors re-assessing their India positioning after a prolonged period of selling have also supported market sentiment.“A drop in oil prices to Feb levels should enable the large cap indexes to rise to Feb levels as well,” said Prateek Agrawal, MD and CEO at Motilal Oswal AMC.The prospect of lower energy prices reducing inflation risks supported stocks in Europe and the US too.Shares of India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank climbed 3.6% after it reported a 15.4% increase in gross advances during the June quarter, contributing about 56% to the Nifty’s gains on Monday.Several other lenders also gained after sharing business updates over the weekend. IndusInd Bank, Bandhan Bank and Karur Vysya Bank jumped 3.6%, 3.4%, and 4.2%, respectively. Kotak Mahindra Bank, meanwhile, lost 3.9% after posting softer growth for the April-June period, capping gains for the bank index, which rose 0.6%.State-owned lenders dropped 0.9%, marking a third session of losses.
