Indian shares tread higher as automakers advance

Indian shares were little changed on Thursday, led by gains in automakers but simmering geopolitical tensions kept many investors on edge.

sensex
A man looks at a screen across a road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India. REUTERS

Indian shares were little changed on Thursday, led by gains in automakers but simmering geopolitical tensions kept many investors on edge.

Asian stock markets rose, tracking a recovery in global equities as Wall Street gained overnight after U.S. lawmakers unexpectedly agreed to raise the government debt limit.

U.S. President Donald Trump forged a surprising deal with Democrats in Congress on Wednesday to extend the U.S. debt limit and provide government funding until Dec. 15, in a rare bipartisan accord, Reuters reported.

An index of stocks across Asia, excluding Japan, gained 0.5 percent.

At 0635 GMT, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.05 percent at 31,677 while the broader NSE Nifty rose 0.12 percent at 9,928.

Among the top index gainers, Hero MotoCorp advanced 1.2 percent, Mahindra and Mahndra rose 1.1 percent while Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma gained 1 percent each.

The S&P BSE Healthcare Index added 0.7 percent while the S&P BSE Auto index was up 0.6 percent.

Eicher Motors added 2 percent on reports that the maker of Royal Enfield motorbikes is looking to bid for Italian bike-maker Ducati.

ICICI Bank rose 1 percent while ICICI Prudential Life Insurance advanced 2 percent after ICICI Bank said ICICI Bank Lombard General Insurance's initial public offering got an approval and it will open its IPO from September 15 to 19.

NBCC India rose 2 percent after the company said it got orders worth Rs 464 crore from ministry of health and family welfare.

Among the laggards, Equitas Holdings dropped 1.6 percent after a block deal.

Tata Motors-DVR declined declined 2 percent. The stock fell for fourth consecutive sessions and lost nearly 6.5% in this period.

Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.

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