People stand outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the Sensex crossed the 60,000 level for the first time, in Mumbai, India, September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
BENGALURU, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Indian shares closed higher for a sixth straight session on Wednesday, led by gains in information technology stocks as investors await the outcome of the central bank’s policy meeting later this week.
The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was up 0.25% at 17,388.15, at the close, and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) was up 0.37% at 58,350.53, after bouncing between gains and losses in the background for most of the session. US-China tensions are escalating.
Looking ahead, traders are awaiting the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy meeting on Friday.
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With inflation at a multi-year high, the RBI committee is seen raising rates, although views on the rate of increase are broadly divided between 25 basis points and 50 basis points, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Read more
Helping sentiment on domestic equities on Wednesday, foreign investors bought $860.5 million worth of Indian stocks in the last two sessions after buying a net worth of $618.05 million in July.
Nifty’s IT sub-index (.NIFTYIT) closed up 1.35% after hitting an over one-month high in the session. Infosys Ltd ( INFY.NS ), Tata Consultancy Services Ltd ( TCS.NS ) and Tech Mahindra Ltd ( TEML.NS ) were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 index, each up more than 1%.
Offsetting some of the gains, Tata Motors ( TAMO.NS ) and Maruti Suzuki India ( MRTI.NS ) fell 1.8% and 2.3%, respectively.
The Nifty Auto Index (NIFTYAUTO) fell 0.8%, snapping five consecutive sessions of gains, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of semiconductors.
“If there is an escalation (between the US and China) this weekend, that could disrupt supply chain management for semiconductors globally,” said Prashanth Taps, research analyst at Mehta Equities.
InterGlobe Aviation Ltd ( INGL.NS ), the operator of India’s top airline IndiGo, closed shares up 1.7% ahead of its quarterly results.
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Reporting by Rama Venkat from Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber
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