Indian shares rose modestly to hit 1-1/2-week highs on Tuesday, with renewed foreign capital inflows underpinning sentiment. Stocks reversed early losses after the Reserve Bank of India kept key policy rates steady, as expected, but cut the statutory liquidity ratio to 23 percent from 24 percent earlier.
Oil/gas, rate-sensitive realty and IT stocks paced the gainers, while consumer durable, banking and power stocks ended subdued, limiting further upside.
Global cues offered support, with stocks rising across Asia and Europe on hopes of stimulus measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session up 93 points or 0.54 percent at 17,236, while the broader Nifty index rose by 29 points or 0.56 percent to 5,229. TCS, India's largest software services exporter, rose 0.7 percent, rival Infosys gained 0.8 percent and Wipro ended 1.7 percent higher after the RBI eased norms on forex earnings and forward contracts.
Cigarette maker ITC scaled to a 52-week high before ending marginally lower, while market heavyweight Reliance Industries reversed early losses to end up 1.9 percent near its day' high. Drug makers like Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries and Wockhardt as well as state-run Power Grid Corp also hit 52-week highs.
"The primary focus of monetary policy remains inflation control in order to secure a sustainable growth path over the medium-term," the RBI said. The central bank now faces the challenge of containing inflation, while maintaining growth.
by RTT Staff Writer
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