Indian Shares Surge As US, Iran Pause Strikes

(RTTNews) - Indian shares were sharply higher in early trade on Monday after the United States and Iran paused strikes against each other for a second day, helping ease concerns over a broader conflict and supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures slumped more than 6 percent toward $92 a barrel as efforts continued to bring the United States and Iran back to negotiations.

The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex was up 532 points, or 0.7 percent, at 76,592 while the broader NSE Nifty index edged up by 150 points, or 0.6 percent, to 23,913.

Bharat Electronics, Coal India, Canara Bank, Coforge and Tata Power all were moving higher ahead of their quarterly earnings results due today.

NTPC gained half a percent on reporting a 12 percent year-on-year rise in its first-quarter standalone net profit.

IDFC First Bank jumped 6 percent after posting its highest-ever quarterly profit. KFin Technologies soared 5.4 percent despite posting mixed Q1 earnings.

Tata Consumer Products advanced 1.4 percent after the company signaled further price hikes to offset rising raw material costs.