Nifty, Sensex rise as trade woes ease; financial and metal stocks gain

Indian shares rose on Thursday, in line with broader Asia, buoyed by signs of de-escalation in the Sino-U.S. trade war and as investors hoped that the European Central Bank will deliver stimulus to arrest a slowing global economy.

The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.17% at 11,054.88 as of 0500 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.22% higher at 37,354.22.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday delayed an additional increase in tariffs on Chinese goods by two weeks, pushing MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.4% higher.

Investors also await an European Central Bank meeting later in the day amid expectations that it would start another wave of monetary easing by central banks around the globe.

In the local markets, the Nifty Metals index rose as much as 1.4% to a near five-week high. Shares of Tata Steel Ltd and JSW Steel Ltd were among the top gainers on the NSE index.

Mortgage lender Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd gained as much as 3.14%, its sharpest intraday rise in more than two weeks.

Markets also awaited consumer price index data due later on Thursday. The country’s retail inflation likely rose to a 10-month high in August, while staying below the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4%, a Reuters poll of economists showed.

“We are seeing stability and return of positive sentiment, there is still some sort of resistance as there are doubts about how long this momentum will sustain,” said Deepak Jasani, senior vice-president at HDFC Securities.

“Local cues giving indication of resurgence of growth will be keenly watched in the near term,” he added.

The Nifty public sector bank index, which tracks the country’s state-owned lenders, gained about 0.95% to its highest in over two weeks.

Yes Bank Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd fell 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively, and were the top losers on the NSE Nifty.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

First Published: Sep 12, 2019 11:05 IST