Bengaluru: Indian shares opened higher on Wednesday, as a fall in global oil prices boosted sentiment, while investors awaited domestic retail inflation data and quarterly earnings results from IT firm Wipro later in the day.
India, the world’s third-biggest importer and consumer of oil, benefits from a fall in prices as it brings down imported inflation.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.21% to 17,020 as of 0347 GMT, and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.1% to 57,206.47. On Tuesday, both the indexes had closed at a one-week low – marking their third straight session of losses – on the back of risk aversion globally.
Oil prices fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, as investors were concerned about a hit to fuel demand amidst fears of a global recession and tightening of COVID-19 curbs in China. [O/R]
Meanwhile, a Reuters poll found India’s retail inflation accelerated to a five-month high of 7.30% in September due to surging food prices, staying well above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance band for a ninth month. The data is due after market hours.
Nifty’s IT sector index advanced 0.79% in early trade and was the top performer among other sub-indexes.
IT service providers Wipro Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd climbed 0.8% and 2%, respectively, ahead of their quarterly earnings results later in the day.
Asian stocks were at two-year lows on Wednesday, driven by volatility on Wall Street, a stronger dollar, and instability in the U.K. bond market. Markets also awaited U.S. inflation data on Thursday that kept investors on edge. – Reuters
Also read: Modi govt’s piped water scheme can stop 1.36 lakh child deaths/yr, says Nobel laureate-led study