Indian shares ended higher on Monday as bargain-hunting lifted recently hit stocks, though sentiment remained cautious ahead of the federal budget next week. The broader NSE index ended up 0.50 percent at 8,391.50, while the benchmark BSE index closed 0.31 percent higher at 27,117.34.
ITC Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, and Tata Motors were among top contributors to the indexes. Asian indices were mixed after US President Donald Trump declared his intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but did not spring any negative surprises.
Traders in India are in a wait-and-watch mode ahead of the government's 2017/18 budget to be unveiled on February 1 amid hopes for incentives to support an economy hit by cash shortages after a ban on higher-value banknotes.
"Markets have been on a cautionary stance ahead of the speech (Trump's inauguration speech), but have now bounced back slightly," said Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
"It's more about bargain hunting, and markets are not keen on giving away gains a week before the budget."
The Nifty bank index rose, after losing 1.80 percent over the last two sessions, with Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank Ltd climbing more than 1 percent each. IT stocks rose, led by Infosys Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd, up as much as 0.98 percent and 1.75 percent, respectively. Infosys shares were down nearly 3 percent last week. Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd rose as much as 4.4 pct after the company said it received new orders worth over 8.25 bln rupees ($121.24 million).
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