Indian shares rise aided by positive corporate updates, lower oil, foreign inflows

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

Indian shares inched higher on Tuesday, extending a four-session rally, as upbeat corporate updates, lower crude prices, progress in monsoon rains and a return of foreign inflows supported sentiment.

The benchmark Nifty 50 NSE:NIFTY rose 0.2% to 24,478.60, while the BSE Sensex BSE:SENSEX added 0.22% to 78,462.83, as of 10:06 a.m. IST.

The Nifty 50 and the Sensex added 2.4% each over the last four sessions to notch their highest close in 10 weeks, led by banks after first-quarter updates showed solid loan growth.

Sentiment was also supported by Brent crude ICEEUR:BRN1! holding at pre-Iran war levels of $72 a barrel, monsoon progress and foreign portfolio investors turning buyers for three consecutive sessions.

"The Nifty has reclaimed the 200-day exponential moving average for the first time since February, suggesting the broader uptrend remains firmly intact," said Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Equity Broking.

The 200-day exponential moving average is a key long-term trend indicator, with sustained moves above it seen as a sign of improving market momentum and investor confidence.

While the market could consolidate after the recent advance, dips were likely to attract buying interest as long as the Nifty held above the 24,300-24,400 support zone, Shah said.

Nine of the 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps NSE:CNXSMALLCAP and mid-caps NSE:CNXMIDCAP fell about 0.5% each.

IT index NSE:CNXIT rose 2.2%, extending its July rebound to 6% after a 10.5% slide over the previous two months, ahead of Tata Consultancy Services' NSE:TCS quarterly earnings on Thursday.

Among stocks, Titan NSE:TITAN gained 3.3% after reporting a 41% growth in consumer business in the first quarter, helped by healthy festival demand in its core jewellery segment.

Jubilant FoodWorks NSE:JUBLFOOD gained 3.4% after it said consolidated revenue in the June quarter rose 14.1% year-on-year.

Trent NSE:TRENT fell 11% after reporting softer-than-expected standalone revenue growth for the June quarter in its business update.