Indian shares ended higher on Wednesday on the back of an upbeat start to the corporate earnings season and ahead of quarterly results from major banks. The broader NSE index closed up 0.23 percent at 8,417, its highest since November 10, 2016, while the benchmark BSE index ended up 0.08 percent at 27,257.64. Axis Bank and Yes Bank are scheduled to report earnings on Thursday.
The Nifty Bank index hit its highest in two months, with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank leading the gains.
"December quarter earnings as a whole have been mostly in-line or better than expected barring the IT sector," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research equities at Centrum Wealth.
"Going forward, market maybe expecting things to be relatively better or at least expects no major negative surprises in numbers especially in relation to the larger financials who are index heavyweights," Khemka said.
The government's annual budget is due on February 1 and investors hope for incentives to support an economy hit by cash shortages after a ban on higher-value banknotes. The Nifty Bank index gained as much as 1.1 percent to hit its highest since November 17, 2016. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank gained nearly 1 percent. Axis Bank and Yes Bank are scheduled to report earnings on Thursday. Among the losers were Bharti Airtel, down 1.3 percent, and Reliance Industries Ltd which lost 0.3 percent.
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