Indian shares hit one-week high on tech boost

A general view of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), after Sensex surpassed the 50,000 level for the first time, in Mumbai, India, January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

BENGALURU, July 18 (Reuters) – Indian shares hit one-week highs on Monday, as investors snapped up beaten-down information technology and metal stocks, while a bounce in global equities also aided broader investor sentiment.

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was up 0.81% at 16,180, as of 0509 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.76% to 54,192.08. Both the indexes hit their highest since July 11, after recording their first weekly loss in four on Friday.

The Nifty IT index (.NIFTYIT), which is down more than 30% this year, gained 3.3%.

The metals index (.NIFTYMET), which has fallen over 28% in the last two months, rose 1.7%. Industrial metal prices gained on Chinese regulators’ latest efforts to avert a potential crisis in the country’s real estate market, which consumes a vast amount of metals.

“It could be a relief rally due to the oversold positions in both IT and metals. Globally also cues are conducive, as the U.S. consumer data was on the positive side,” said Ajit Mishra, vice-president, research, Religare Broking.

U.S. economic data released on Friday surprised to the upside, with stronger-than-expected retail sales, an uptick in consumer sentiment, lower inflation expectations and cooling import prices.

Asian shares inched higher following a bounce on Wall Street at the end of last week.

In Mumbai, Bharat Electronics (BAJE.NS) rose 4.2% on quarterly profit jump, while Den Network (DENN.NS) dropped 4.4% after reporting a slump in June-quarter profit.

HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS) dropped 1.3% after India’s largest private lender missed quarterly profit estimates. read more

Indian markets will also be focusing on big earnings from heavyweights Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), Hindustan Unilever (HLL.NS), Wirpo (WIPR.NS) this week.

Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Rashmi Aich

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