Indian shares rise as financials outweigh losses in Reliance

BENGALURU: Indian shares edged higher on Friday as gains in heavyweight financial stocks outweighed losses in Reliance Industries, which fell a day after its annual general meeting.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.19% to 15,820 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.14% to 52,771.59 by 0359 GMT.

The Nifty Bank index added 0.41% and was on track for its second straight session of gains. Private-sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the top two boosts to the Nifty 50.

Conglomerate Reliance fell 1.8%.

At its annual general meeting on Thursday, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said he expects the company to formalise its partnership with Saudi Aramco this year, without providing any specific details, while adding that Aramco Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan will join the board as an independent director.

Top oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp rose 2%.

The company posted a March-quarter profit, compared with a loss a year ago, and said that its crude oil production almost reached last year's levels despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland jumped 4.2% after it reported a March-quarter profit versus a loss last year. Its quarterly truck volumes more than doubled year-on-year.

In global markets, Asian shares rose after record closing highs for Wall Street's Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes as the US President embraced a bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal.