Indian shares hit fresh record highs; Tata Steel, Infosys top gainers

india trader
Traders work at a brokerage in Mumbai, India. Reuters

India shares opened at fresh record highs on Tuesday, driven by sustained overseas inflows after positive earnings and the government's efforts to contain fiscal deficit target.

Risk appetite got a lift on news reports that the government is mulling 100 percent foreign direct investment in the banking sector.

At 0610 GMT, the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.61 percent at 36,016 while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 0.69 percent to 11,042.

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Among the top Sensex gainers, Tata Steel rose 3.6 percent, Reliance Industries gained 1.5 percent, Infosys added 2.1 percent while State Bank of India was up 1.8 percent.

Hathway Cable & Datacom climbed 5 percent after a block deal. Around 3 million shares of the company changed hands in 2 block deals, Bloomberg reported.

Kalpataru Power Transmission advanced 10 percent after the company said it won order worth Rs. 871 crore.

But Rallies India lost 5 percent after the company posted 24 percent decline in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31.

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

Meanwhile, Asian shares advanced, in line with global equity markets following a deal to end a U.S. government shutdown.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7 percent to a fresh record peak. Australian stocks climbed 0.7 percent and South Korea's KOSPI added 1 percent. Japan's Nikkei was 1.1 percent higher, Reuters data showed.

This article was first published on January 23, 2018
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