By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares reversed intraday losses on Wednesday, aided by broad-based gains across sectors amid a slew of earnings and as markets shrugged off rising recession fears in the United States.
The Nifty 50 closed 0.25% higher to 17,813.60, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.28%. Both benchmarks had fallen more than 0.3% during the session.
“Volatility will continue to be the hallmark for the next few sessions ahead of the April series derivatives expiry on Thursday,” said Prashant Tapse, senior vice president (research) at Mehta Equities.
Analysts also anticipated caution from investors ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve rate decision on May 3. The odds of a 25-basis point rate hike stand at 80.7%.
Barring metals and oil & gas, all the other 11 major sectoral indexes logged gains, with the high-weightage financials advancing 0.22%.
Metals fell nearly 0.5% on concerns over global demand.
Realty was the top sectoral gainer, adding 1.36%. The index has risen in the last three sessions, adding nearly 3% on strong earnings from constituents such as Macrotech Developers Ltd, after a 2.5% slide on Thursday and Friday.
Global equities were subdued on soft economic data and disappointing earnings from the U.S. Consumer confidence in the world’s largest economy fell to a nine-month low in April, intensifying concerns of a potential recession. [MKTS/GLOB]
Analysts expected domestic equities to consolidate in a narrow range but advised participants to focus on sector and stock selection amid weak global cues.
Tata Consumer Products Ltd rose 1.67% and was among the top gainers after analysts saw the March quarter earnings growth as a signal for growth revival.
Automotive components supplier Mahindra CIE Automotive Ltd jumped over 7% after reporting a 73% jump in net profit, while Nestle India Ltd added nearly 2% on a raised price target from Jefferies after the company reported a fourth-quarter profit rise.
($1 = 81.8790 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Janane Venkatraman)
