BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares closed at a two-month high on Friday as power companies rallied on expectations of higher demand in the summer months, while heavyweight financials also lent support.
Buoyed by gains late in the session, the NSE Nifty 50 index closed 1.18% higher at 17,670.45 and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.21% to 59,276.69. Both the indexes added more than 3% this week, helped by a slide in crude prices. [O/R]
After surging due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, oil prices have retreated this week thanks to a massive reserve release by the United States. That has been a positive for India, the world’s third-largest importer and consumer of oil.
Investor sentiment on Friday was also supported by news that India’s richest state Maharashtra – home to the country’s financial capital Mumbai – was lifting its mask mandate after a steep fall in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
All sub-indexes, except pandemic winners Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma, were trading sharply higher, led by the Nifty PSU Bank index with a 4% jump.
Power producer NTPC led the gains on the Nifty 50 with a 5.8% jump, while power transmission firm Power Grid Corp climbed 3.8%, boosted by what analysts said were expectations of higher electricity consumption over the coming months and reports of power shortages.
The Nifty Energy index rose 2.5% to a record high.
India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank and heavyweight mortgage lender HDFC Ltd climbed around 2.5% each. The Nifty Bank index closed 2.1% higher.
The Nifty Auto index was up 1.2% as investors assessed monthly sales reports from automakers.
(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
