INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares rise as fears of global banking contagion ebb

Kitco Media
By Reuters
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Updated:
Reuters
(Updates levels, adds analysts' comments) By Bharath Rajeswaran BENGALURU, March 27 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on Monday as authorities globally took steps to contain the banking turmoil, helping dispel some of the contagion fears. The Nifty 50 index was up 0.43% at 17,017.30 as of 10:35 a.m. IST. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.43% to 57,774.50. The broader Asian equity indexes were subdued. Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes advanced. Pharma stocks rose 1% and was the top sectoral gainer. First Citizens BancShares is to buy the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, while the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank said they are keeping a close watch on the impact of banking stress. That helped cast an uneasy calm over fragile markets. Domestically, a media report said that India's state-run lenders will submit a detailed scenario-mapped plan of various risks to the government within two weeks. Indian financials were up 0.02%, while banks were flat. Indian lenders are expected to remain resilient in the wake of the global turmoil. "Expect some stability in Indian markets after swift action by regulators on banking crisis so far in the West," said Anita Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets. "The persistent selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) is a dampener on sentiment, though," she added. Since the failure of SVB on March 9, FPIs have offloaded Indian equities in ten out of the 11 sessions. Among individual stocks, Reliance Industries rose 2% after Kotak Institutional Equities called the stock a "compelling" buy. Shares of Phoenix Mills jumped nearly 6% after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an "overweight" recommendation. Asset management companies like HDFC Asset Management , UTI Asset Management and Aditya Birla Sun Life declined after the government proposed to tax benefits from long-term debt mutual funds. (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)

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