Indian shares gain on financials, energy boost; Muthoot Finance falls

BENGALURU: Indian shares opened higher on Monday after two consecutive sessions of falls, helped by financial and energy stocks, while top gold financing company Muthoot Finance dropped after the death of its chairman.

The blue chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.62% to 15,031.03 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.66% to 50,740.06 by 0358 GMT.

Market sentiment was also upbeat as investors globally cheered the US Senate's passage of a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5% on prospects of a faster global economic rebound after the passage of the stimulus bill.

In domestic trading, shares of Muthoot Finance Ltd fell as much as 5%, after the company said, its chairman M. G. George Muthoot passed away on Friday.

Local papers cited police saying the chairman fell from the fourth floor of his house in New Delhi at around 9 pm on Friday.

The Nifty Bank Index, which rose 1.22% last week, gained 1.08%.

The Nifty energy index was up 1.65%, amid a surge in Brent crude futures to their highest in more than a year.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd was among the biggest percentage gainers on the Nifty 50 with a rise of up to 6.1%.