Indian shares edged higher on Tuesday, led by gains in consumer durables stocks, but the escalating geopolitical tensions kept many investors on edge.
Global risk appetite turned sour after North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, prompting the threat of a "massive" military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened.
The White House declared on Monday that "all options to address the North Korean threat are on the table", Reuters reported.
MSCI's dollar-denominated index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1 percent thanks to gains in Chinese shares, though many markets were in the red.
At 0640 GMT, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.16 percent at 31,751 while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 0.19 percent at 9,931.
Among the gainers, Bajaj Auto advanced 1.3 percent, Reliance Industries rose 1.2 percent, Asian Paints gained 1 percent while Tata Steel was up 0.7 percent.
The S&P BSE Consumer Durables Index added 1.7 percent while the S&P BSE realty index rose 1 percent in trades.
Reliance Capital jumped 9 percent after the company turned ex-date for demerger of Reliance Home Finance. Reliance Capital holders will get 1 share of the separated business for each they hold.
IFCI added 5 percent while Thomas Cook India gained 4 percent on reports that Thomas Cook (India) is among several companies interested in buying state-owned lender IFCI's 26.09 percent stake in Tourism Finance Corp of India.
IRB Infrastructure Developers rose 1.5 percent after the company said it started toll collection for construction at Udaipur tollway.
Among the laggards, Manali Petrochemical declined 7 percent after the company said its June quarter net profit fell 81 percent from a year ago.
Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.
