Indian shares rise on vaccine optimism; Reliance gains

BENGALURU: Indian shares ended higher on Monday, as promising trial results from a coronavirus vaccine boosted investor sentiment globally, while Reliance Industries gained after it won regulatory approval for a $3.4 billion deal.

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine could be around 90pc effective without any serious side effects, it said on Monday, the latest in a string of upbeat vaccine trial results this month.

The AstraZeneca-Oxford University shot can be stored and transported in the fridge and does not require freezers, like other vaccines, making it a relatively easier option for developing nations including India, the second worst-hit country by the novel coronavirus.

India's NSE Nifty 50 index rose on the news and hit a record high, before settling 0.52pc up at 12,926.45. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.44pc higher at 44,077.15.

Reliance Industries, India's most valuable public company, advanced 2.7pc after the country's competition watchdog approved its deal to buy Future Group's retail assets.

Among other major gainers on the Nifty 50, Infosys rose 3.3pc and Tata Consultancy Services added 2.4pc.

IndusInd Bank climbed 4.8pc and IDFC First Bank jumped 9.7pc after a central bank committee recommended wide-ranging changes to India's banking industry, including setting a higher cap for the size of promoters' stakes.

Small finance banks also advanced, with Equitas surging 12.9pc, while Ujjivan added 20pc.

Meanwhile, optimism that the imminent availability of coronavirus vaccines could spur a faster economic recovery pushed world stocks higher on Monday.

A top U.S. health official has also said the first coronavirus vaccines could be given to healthcare workers and others recommended by mid-December.