Sensex, Nifty rise on strong earnings, upbeat large caps

Indian shares rose on Tuesday, boosted by strong quarterly corporate earnings so far and gains in large-cap stocks such as Reliance Industries Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

The broader Nifty was up 0.24 per cent at10,549.7 as of 0546 GMT, while the benchmark Sensex was 0.32 per cent higher at 35,064.11.

Primarily, a good set of corporate fundamentals is driving the buying and the recovery today, said Deven Choksey, founder, KR Choksey Investment Managers.

Broader Asian shares were supported by gains on Wall Street although the trading sentiment was tempered ahead of the US midterm elections, the first major electoral test of President Donald Trump’s big tax cuts and hostile trade policies since assuming office.

In India, Jaguar Land Rover-owner Tata Motors Ltd led the gains, rising as much as 5.4 per cent to a four-week high after data from a UK auto trade association showed a surge in Jaguar registrations in October.

GAIL (India) Ltd extended gains into a third session, climbing 2.7 per cent to its highest since Oct. 3. The state-run gas utility on Monday posted a 50 per cent jump in second-quarter profit, and brokerages raised their target price on the stock.

Oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries’s stock, up 1.7 per cent, was the biggest boost to the NSE index.

Heavyweight IT stocks contributed to the gains, with shares of TCS rising as much as 2.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, shares of country’s largest lender State Bank of India, which climbed in the previous session after reporting solid quarterly results, were down 2.3 per cent, according to Reuters news agency.

Private-sector lender Axis Bank Ltd’s stock fell as much as 3.3 per cent.

Miner Vedanta Ltd, which started trading ex-dividend in the session, was the top per centage loser on the index. The stock fell as much as 6.9 per cent in its sharpest intraday drop in nearly four weeks.

Shares of Cipla Ltd, India’s second-largest drugmaker by market capitalisation, stretched losses to the fourth straight session, falling as much as 5.3 per cent to their lowest since June 5.

The company on Monday reported quarterly profit that missed estimates, and warned of headwinds in the second half of the year.