BENGALURU: Indian shares reversed opening losses and edged higher on Thursday, aided by metal stocks and a positive reaction to strong earnings, as investors looked past the US Federal Reserve rate hike.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.19% to 18,125.50 as of 10:20 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.17% to 61,295.33. Both indexes traded between 0.2% gains and 0.2% losses.
Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes advanced, with metals rising over 1% as a weaker dollar boosted metal prices.
All 15 constituents of the metal index logged gains. High weightage financials added 0.3%.
Equipment financing company Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Ltd surged over 9% to a record high as earnings beat estimates.
Wall Street equities closed lower overnight after the Fed raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Signs of stress at another regional bank in the US, PacWest Bancorp, also weighed on global markets.
“It seems like this is the last rate hike,” said Hemang Jani, head of equity strategy, broking and distribution at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
“Expect the Fed rate hike to not have a material impact on India due to RBI’s rate pause and weakness in crude oil prices.”
Brent crude futures hovered around $73 per barrel, on global demand concerns, US debt default negotiations and the Fed rate hike.
Both Brent and WTI crude have lost 10% since the start of the week.
The fall in oil prices is a positive for importers of the commodity like India, where crude constitutes a significant share of the country’s import bill.
Shares of Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd and ABB India Ltd jumped 8% and 4%, respectively, as investors reacted to strong March quarter results.
IT stocks drag Indian shares lower ahead of Fed rate decision
On the flip side, Petronet LNG Ltd lost 5% after reporting a fall in quarterly profit.
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