BENGALURU: Indian shares rose on Friday, led by information technology stocks, after firm US economic data allayed fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy, spurring a global rally.
The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.72% at 24,316.48 as of 9:57 a.m. IST, and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.67% to 79,633.39. All the 13 major sectors logged gains, led by a 2% rise in the IT index.
Indian IT companies earn a significant share of their revenue from the United States.
Recent US economic data, including a benign consumer price inflation reading on Wednesday, strong retail sales print and low weekly jobless claims on Thursday, have alleviated fears of a recession and fuelled a rally across global markets.
The broader, more domestically focussed small- and mid-caps rose about 1% each. Other Asian markets also logged gains, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rising 1.4%, tracking a positive overnight close on Wall Street.
“Investors are looking to capitalise on positive momentum from Wall Street. Traders are adopting a risk-on approach on easing US recession concerns,” said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president of research at Mehta Equities.
Among individual stocks, auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra rose 3% after launching a five-door variant of its ‘Thar’ model.
Morgan Stanley reiterated its “overweight” rating on the stock, expecting a strong sales jump as it found the new variant “impressive”.
Indian shares muted as profit-booking offsets IT gains
The stock was the top gainer on the Nifty 50 and auto index, which rose 1.75%.
Aluminium maker Hindalco Industries gained 2.5% after Macquarie said it expects a negligible impact on the company from a Supreme Court judgement allowing states to levy past tax and royalty dues on mined minerals.
Hindalco was among the top five Nifty 50 gainers. Newly-listed Ola Electric jumped 11% after the company launched new motorcycle models.
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