India equity benchmarks open higher as stronger earnings, MSCI rejig lift sentiment

(Reuters) -Indian benchmarks opened higher on Thursday, aided by strong earnings from Sun Pharma and Britannia Industries, while the inclusion of four domestic stocks in a flagship MSCI index also aided sentiment.

The Nifty 50 rose 0.18% to 25,643.7, while the BSE Sensex rose 0.34% to 83,749.93 as of 9:19 a.m. IST.

Indian markets were closed for a local holiday on Wednesday.

Twelve of the 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps and mid-caps traded flat.

Drug maker Sun Pharma rose 1.5%, while biscuit maker Britannia Industries jumped 4% after posting a rise in second-quarter profit.

Paytm gained 3.4% after analysts termed its second-quarter core performance healthy. The stock was also among the four companies included in the MSCI Global Standard index in its November rejig, a move likely to spur higher inflows into these stocks.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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