Indian shares edged higher on Friday, mirroring gains in other Asian markets on optimism the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum after overnight data showed weekly jobless claims fell to a five-year low last week. Closer home, investors await consumer inflation and factory output data later in the session, followed by wholesale price inflation numbers on Monday for clues to near-term market outlook.
The benchmark Sensex is currently up 77 points or 0.39 percent at 20,016, while the broader Nifty index is at 6,071, up 20 points or 0.34 percent from its previous close. Consumer durable, IT and auto stocks are gaining ground, while oil/gas, healthcare, metal and FMCG stocks are little changed.
Novartis India is edging up 0.2 percent after its Swiss parent Novartis AG appointed Citigroup Capital Markets as the broker for the proposed share sale to reduce stake in the Indian entity.
NTPC is adding 0.7 percent and Reliance Communication is adding a percent ahead of their quarterly results today. Escorts is rising 1.5 percent on posting a 61 percent rise in second-quarter net profit.
Wipro is moving up 0.2 percent after capital market regulator SEBI approved its proposal to meet the minimum public shareholding requirement through a transfer of equity shares by the promoter group to an 'Irrevocable Independent Trust'.
Indian Oil Corporation is gaining 0.8 percent after the Union Cabinet approved leasing of land of Ennore Port to a joint venture led by IOC, where the oil marketing company will set up a Rs 4,320-crore liquid gas (LNG) import terminal.
HT Media is climbing 9.4 percent ahead of a board meet next week to consider a share buyback. Astral Poly Technik is adding a percent after the company proposed to consider a stock split.
Fortis Healthcare is gaining 0.7 percent on fund raising reports. Jubilant FoodWorks is little changed on reporting disappointing same store sales growth for the quarter ended March.
Reliance Industries is moving down 0.4 percent after the energy giant unveiled plans to invest over $5 billion in a series of projects in the KG-D6 block to reverse the trend of falling gas and crude oil output.
Cipla is losing a percent on reports the Competition Commission of India is probing allegations of anti-competitive practices against the company.
Indian shares eased on Thursday, as investors adopted a cautious stance following three days of successive gains. The BSE Sensex ended a lackluster session down 51 points or 0.26 percent at 18,838, while the broader Nifty index fell 19 points or 0.32 percent to 6,050.
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