Indian shares end higher on auto, banking gains; Zee soars

BENGALURU: Indian shares edged up on Tuesday as automobile and banking stocks rose, while Zee Entertainment logged record gains after top investors called a shareholder meet for a management reshuffle.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 0.14% at 17,380, having hit a record high at 17,438.55 earlier in the session, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.12% higher at 58,247.09.

Indian equities have hovered near record highs and outperformed Asian peers so far this year as central banks pumped money into the COVID-ravaged economies and as most domestic pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises registered its best trading session ever, soaring 40%, after its biggest shareholders called for a special meeting to remove Chief Executive Punit Goenka and two others as directors.

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Private banking stocks jumped over 1% to snap two straight sessions of losses, with IndusInd Bank rising nearly 4% to be the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index.

Automobile stocks advanced to their highest in over a month, following local media reports of a Madras High Court ruling that said bumper-to-bumper insurance cover for new vehicles would not be mandatory.

Tech stocks rose 0.9%, led by gains in software services provider HCL Technologies that rose to a record high after the company signed a deal with South Korean software firm Hancom Inc.

Food delivery platform Zomato Ltd dropped nearly 5% after its co-founder and head of supply Gaurav Gupta decided to leave the company, but closed the session higher.

Bucking the wider trend, consumer goods stocks fell slightly, with edible oils maker Marico Ltd dropping over 3% to snap a four-session winning streak.