Indian shares rose on Thursday, as strong earnings from major firms overshadowed rising recession fears in the United States, ahead of the April series derivatives expiry.
The Nifty 50 was up 0.15% to 17,839.20 as of 10:38 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.17% to 60,403.63. Twelve of the 13 major sectoral indexes advanced. High weightage financials resisted selling pressure, rising 0.2%, aided by non-banking financial company Bajaj Finance Ltd .
Bajaj Finance rose over 3% after reporting a bigger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter profit on strong loan demand. Bajaj Finance and its holding company Bajaj Finserv Ltd were among the top Nifty 50 gainers. The Nifty 50 has added over 1% this week, amid a slew of corporate earnings, shrugging off the weakness in global equities.
"Markets may go sideways after the sharp rise," said Om Mehra, equity research analyst at Choice Broking. "The (Nifty 50) index is likely to witness consolidation, traders may find buying opportunities if the 17,700 level is protected." Volatility will prevail ahead of the expiry of April series derivatives on Thursday, analysts cautioned.
Technology services firm L&T Technology Services Ltd jumped over 5% after reporting a profit beat, buoying
the IT index .
Contract research company Syngene International Ltd jumped nearly 6% after posting a 21% year-on-year rise
in consolidated net profit in the March quarter. The stock was
in an overbought zone. Global equities were subdued after weak economic data in the
U.S. heightened concerns of a potential recession in the near
term. Asian markets were mostly lower. The slide in crude oil prices below $80 per barrel and
the return of foreign institutional buying in Indian equities
will act as positive catalysts for the domestic market, amid
weak global cues, two analysts said.
($1 = 81.7130 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; editing by
Eileen Soreng and Janane Venkatraman)
