Indian shares hit record high on Airtel boost

Wednesday,   13-Jan-2021   09:54 AM (IST)

Indian shares rose on Wednesday to a record high, led by gains in Bharti Airtel after the telecom operator initiated process to increase foreign investment, and ahead of earnings from technology heavy weights Infosys and Wipro due later in the day. The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.5% to 14,630 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.34% to 49,703.93 by 0348 GMT. A fall in vegetable prices helped India's retail inflation to ease in December to within the central bank's 2% to 6% target range, although it is unlikely to cut the policy repo rate soon, economists said. Shares of Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS rose 5% and was the biggest boost to the Nifty 50 index after the company said on Tuesday it was initiating process to revise foreign investment limit up to 100%. Meanwhile, India's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered an indefinite stay on the implementation of new agricultural laws that have triggered widespread protest from farmers.