By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -Indian shares climbed in early trade on Tuesday, building on gains from the previous session, driven by strong performances in financials and positive global cues.
The Nifty 50 and Sensex were up about 1% at 22,726.7 and 74,879.53, respectively, as of 10:01 a.m. IST.
The Nifty, however, has lost approximately 13% from its record-high level touched last September.
“After the recent drop, investor sentiment is turning positive on India,” said analysts led by Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley.
“India remains our top pick in emerging markets and we are overweight on financials, industrials, consumer discretionary and technology sectors,” the analysts said.
All the 13 major sectors advanced, with heavyweight financials rising 1%.
ICICI Bank rose about 3%, leading the gains in both benchmark indexes.
Approximately 352,441 shares of ICICI Bank were traded at a premium to the previous close, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Investor sentiment in global markets was upbeat, with major Asian equities reflecting the overnight gains on Wall Street. [MKTS/GLOB]
Indian metal stocks gained around 1%, driven by top consumer China’s stimulus plan and a weaker dollar. [MET/L]
China’s retail sales growth accelerated in January-February, offering relief for policymakers working to revive domestic consumption.
While optimism surrounding China’s economy boosted metals, some analysts expressed concerns that it could lead to additional foreign outflows from India.
“Optimism over China’s economy is leading to foreign capital moving out of emerging markets such as India to China,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign outflows from Indian equities rose to two-week high on Monday after data signalled an acceleration in China’s retail sales growth.
Among individual stocks, Ircon International jumped more than 6% after its joint venture secured a contract worth 10.96 billion rupees from the Government of Meghalaya.
PVR Inox climbed more than 4% after Nuvama reiterated its “buy” rating, citing likely strong performance in the March quarter amid strong content.
($1 = 86.6920 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
