Reliance, ONGC power Indian shares to best day in eight weeks

BENGALURU, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Indian shares surged in their best session in eight weeks on Monday, driven by gains in energy heavyweights Reliance Industries and ONGC as oil prices climbed, and by a rebound in beaten-down financials.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index closed 1.80% higher at 21,737.60 and the S&P BSE Sensex ended 1.76% higher at 71,941.57 in their biggest one-day percentage gains since 4 December.

Besides that, the market also got a boost from strong cues from the rise in Asian markets, which were led by China after the country's markets regulator said it would fully suspend the lending of restricted shares, in an attempt to stabilise its stock markets.

Domestically, 12 of the 13 sectors logged gains. Energy and oil and gas stocks surged over 5% each to record highs.

Oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries, which has the second-heaviest weightage on the Nifty, rose 7% to a record high, while Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) shares also jumped about 8%, both aided by crude oil hitting an eight-week high.

Financial services, which has the highest weightage among all sectors, added 1.56%. They had slid 6.3% in the last seven sessions after HDFC Bank's disappointing results. HDFC Bank rose 1.34%.

SBI Cards and Payment Services lost 5.83% after the company reported a smaller-than-expected third-quarter profit.