Sensex, Nifty rise as investors bet on strong earnings

Indian shares rose for a third straight session on Friday, as investors hoped for the strong earning momentum to continue after a good start by IT majors, soothing concerns around surging domestic coronavirus cases that crossed the 1 million mark.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.67{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} to 10,811.50 by 0405 GMT and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.62{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} at 36,698.89.

Asian shares edged higher on hopes of more stimulus from governments across the globe to counter the economic impact from the pandemic.

Also Read | IT, pharma stocks lift Indian shares as coronavirus cases near a million

Coronavirus cases in the world’s second-most populous nation crossed 1 million as of Friday morning, and the number of deaths rose above 25,000, according to federal government data.

In the Mumbai market, corporate earnings among blue-chip companies have so far been positive with IT majors Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies beating estimates and only Tata Consultancy Services missing.

HCL reported a better-than-expected profit for the first quarter and guided to a 1.5{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} to 2.5{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} quarter-over-quarter increase in revenue for the next three quarters, sending shares up 1.2{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}.

Biscuit maker Britannia Industries rose 1.2{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} ahead of its earning scheduled later in the day.

Metal stocks led gains, with the Nifty metals index rising 2.1{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}.

Also Read | IT stocks uplift domestic markets amid volatility; Infosys jumps 10{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}