By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -Indian shares ended higher on Tuesday, as investors bought the dip following a six-session losing run, while better-than-expected results for the ruling party in a state assembly election also supported sentiment.
Investors now await the Reserve Bank on India’s policy decision on Wednesday, where the central bank is widely expected to hold rates while some expect a change in stance to neutral.
The Nifty 50 index ended 0.88% higher at 25,013.15, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.72% to 81,634.81. Both the indexes fell about 0.1% earlier in the session.
The benchmarks fell in the last six sessions as the escalating Middle East conflict sapped risk appetite and foreign institutional investors sold shares worth $6 billion.
Investors used the dip as a buying opportunity on the day, said Gaurav Dua, head of capital market strategy at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
Dua said the lack of specific details from China on its stimulus measures could have also directed foreign inflows to India.
Foreign and domestic flow data for the session will be released post-market hours.
Meanwhile, election results showed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is headed for a surprise victory in polls in the state of Haryana, while the opposition coalition looked set to form government in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The state election results have eased fears that the ruling government in the centre may get weakened by a likely defeat in the two states, aiding the rally” said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICaps Securities.
Twelve of the 13 major sectors advanced on Tuesday.
High weightage financials rose 1%.
The two heaviest stocks in the Nifty 50, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries rose about 2% each.
The more domestically-focussed small- and mid-caps also gained about 2% each.
Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra gained 3.5% after CLSA upgraded the stock to “outperform” rating from “hold”.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Mrigank Dhaniwala, Sonia Cheema and Eileen Soreng)
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