Indian Shares End Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly higher on Thursday as continued buying in information technology stocks and signs of fresh foreign fund inflows offset worries about a surge in crude oil prices amid escalating Middle East tensions.

Foreign investors net bought shares worth Rs 2,982 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Cues from global markets were mixed as oil prices surged again on reports of fresh strikes on Iran and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh avoided giving any rate path guidance after holding rates for a fifth consecutive meeting in a rare 9-3 split vote.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 273.55 points, or 0.35 percent, to 77,928.15, while the Nifty index closed 66.95 points, or 0.28 percent, higher at 24,317.15.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes slipped 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,528 shares falling while 1,691 shares rose and 188 shares closed unchanged.

Among the top gainers, Sun Pharma, Power Grid Corp, HDFC Bank, SBI, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki India rallied 1-2 percent.

IT stocks extended recent gains, with HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra rising around 1 percent each amid easing enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI)-linked stocks in global markets.

Adani Ports tumbled 3.3 percent, extending losses from the previous session after reporting its fiscal first-quarter results.