BENGALURU: Indian shares opened higher on Monday, led by metals on a weaker dollar and the prospect of stimulus measures in top consumer China, while traders expect near-term market trajectory to be influenced by the quantum of a likely US rate cut this week.
The Nifty 50 index was up 0.14% at 25,391.3 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.15% to 83,011.06, as of 9:30 a.m. IST.
Eleven of 13 major sectors logged gains. Metals gained 1% as a softer dollar made the greenback-priced commodity more affordable for overseas buyers.
Expectations of a demand uptick and China stimulus also pushed base metal prices higher over the last few sessions.
Energy index rose 0.6%, while consumer index, which have outperformed the benchmark Nifty 50 since the start of July, dropped 0.5%.
The broader, more domestically focussed small- and mid-caps rose about 0.4% each.
Benchmark indexes Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex closed flat in the previous session, but logged their best week since the end of June ahead of a potential reduction in US rates on Wednesday.
The odds of a 50-basis-point Fed rate cut have risen to 59% from 30% a week earlier. An aggressive 50-bps rate cut could bring in additional foreign inflows and boost domestic equities, two traders said.
Indian shares pause near lifetime highs, log weekly gains ahead of likely Fed rate cut
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian stocks for a fifth consecutive session on Friday, purchasing shares worth 23.65 billion rupees ($282 million), while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth 25.32 billion rupees.
Other Asian markets were marginally higher, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rising 0.25%.
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