Indian shares ended modestly higher on Tuesday despite mixed global cues on persistent worries about Europe's debt-riddled countries. Investor sentiment improved a little bit after Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party put off its final decision on whether to withdraw from the Manmohan Singh government by a couple of days.
The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session up 41 points or 0.24 percent at 16,918, while the broader Nifty index rose by 10 points or 0.2 percent to 5,128.
FMCG stocks paced the gainers, with Hindustan Unilever climbing 7.5 percent after the company posted a two-fold jump in first-quarter net profit, beating estimates. Godrej Consumer Products, United Breweries and Tata Global Beverages jumped 4-7 percent.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 0.8 percent post its first-quarter results, state-run oil firms Gail India and ONGC rose about a percent each, telecom major Bharti Airtel advanced 1.4 percent, car maker Maruti Suzuki gained 2.3 percent and copper producer Sterlite Industries added 2.6 percent.
On the global front, other Asian markets recouped early losses to end on a mixed note, helped by improved Chinese manufacturing data. With earlier easing measures starting to work, China's manufacturing contracted at a slower pace in July, flash estimates released by Markit Economics revealed. The PMI reading came in at 49.5 in July, up from 48.2 in the previous month, suggesting the slowest contraction in manufacturing.
However, European stocks swung between gains and losses after a purchasing managers' survey showed private sector activity in Germany contracted for a third straight month.
by RTT Staff Writer
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