Indian shares opened higher on Friday, led by information technology companies, after a softer U.S. jobs report eased worries about the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates in the near term and improved risk appetite for emerging markets.
The benchmark Nifty 50 NSE:NIFTY rose 0.83% to 24,375.65, while the BSE Sensex BSE:SENSEX added 0.84% to 78,152.34, as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
Fifteen of the 16 major sectors logged gains at the open. The broader small-caps NSE:CNXSMALLCAP and mid-caps NSE:CNXMIDCAP rose 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
IT companies NSE:CNXIT, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., rose 1.9% and led the sectoral gains.
U.S. job growth slowed sharply in June and payroll gains for the prior two months were revised lower, pointing to a cooling labour market and prompting financial markets to dial back expectations for a near-term rate hike.
Lower U.S. interest rates encourage capital flows to emerging markets like India and aid growth and client spending in the U.S., which is positive for Indian IT companies.
HCLTech NSE:HCLTECH surged 5.2% after announcing a $1.14 billion strategic partnership with a European firm.