Sensex, Nifty Rise As Investors Bet On Strong Earnings

Indian shares rose for a third straight session on Friday, as investors hoped for the strong earning momentum to continue after a good start by IT majors, soothing concerns around surging domestic coronavirus cases that crossed the 1 million mark.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.67% to 10,811.50 by 0405 GMT and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.62% at 36,698.89.

Asian shares edged higher on hopes of more stimulus from governments across the globe to counter the economic impact from the pandemic.

Coronavirus cases in the world's second-most populous nation crossed 1 million as of Friday morning, and the number of deaths rose above 25,000, according to federal government data https://www.mohfw.gov.in.

In the Mumbai market, corporate earnings among blue-chip companies have so far been positive with IT majors Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies beating estimates and only Tata Consultancy Services missing.

HCL reported a better-than-expected profit for the first quarter and guided to a 1.5% to 2.5% quarter-over-quarter increase in revenue for the next three quarters, sending shares up 1.2%.

Biscuit maker Britannia Industries rose 1.2% ahead of its earning scheduled later in the day.

Metal stocks led gains, with the Nifty metals index rising 2.1%.

(Reuters)