By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -Indian equities rose in early trade on Monday, tracking gains across Asia, on optimism that a resolution to the historic U.S. government shutdown is near, while stock-specific post-earnings rallies also lifted the market.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.32% to 25,573.95, while the BSE Sensex added 0.31% to 83,472.41 as of 9:48 a.m. IST.
Other Asian markets rose 1%, after the U.S. Senate advanced the government funding bill to end the shutdown, moving it closer towards passage. [MKTS/GLOB]
An end to the 40-day shutdown could spur a short-term rise in markets, two analysts said.
“Optimism surrounding a potential resolution of the prolonged U.S. government shutdown has aided market sentiment,” said Abhishek Goenka, founder and chief investment officer at wealth management platform Billionz.
Improving quarterly earnings have prompted analysts to raise corporate profit estimates for the coming quarters, lifting overall risk appetite, two analysts said.
On the day, 14 of the 16 major sectors advanced. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose about 0.5% each.
Beauty retailer Nykaa gained 4.2% after its quarterly profit more than trebled, boosted by steady demand for makeup and skincare products and new tie-ups with global brands.
Drugmaker Lupin rose 2.2%, after rising 0.4% in the previous session, after posting a 73.3% jump in quarterly profit, driven by strong demand for its respiratory drugs.
State-owned warplane maker Hindustan Aeronautics gained 2.3% after signing an agreement to buy 113 engines from General Electric to power an advanced variant of its home-produced Tejas fighter jets.
On the flipside, Ola Electric fell 2.2% after Moody’s downgraded the company’s rating, warning of a possible loan default citing a sharp drop in cash reserves.
Eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions listed at a discount of 1.74% to its issue price of 402 rupees, marking a subdued debut amid concerns over stretched valuations.
($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
