Indian shares inch higher led by IT, energy shares; Fed in focus

Tuesday,   11-Jun-2024   11:00 AM (IST)

Indian shares rose helped by gains in information technology and energy stocks, with investors keenly awaiting a key U.S. inflation reading and the Federal Reserve's policy decision. The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.28% at 23,325.10, while the Sensex also rose 0.27% at 76,690.79, as of 10:54 a.m. IST. All 13 major sectors logged gains, with energy stocks rising 0.6%, driven by a nearly 4% jump in ONGC after Jefferies raised its target price on the oil refiner's stock. U.S. interest rate-sensitive IT stocks gained 0.2% as investors awaited the U.S. consumer price index data for May and the Fed's policy decision on Wednesday. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady and the focus will be on whether policymakers tweak their projections for rate cuts this year. India's heavyweight financial services gave up early losses to rise 0.1%. The broader, domestically-focussed small caps and mid-caps both rose nearly 1%, outperforming the benchmarks. IndiGo's shares dropped 3.5% as the airline's biggest shareholder was set to sell a 2% stake worth 32.93 billion rupees ($394 million). Indian shares have been volatile over the last couple of weeks but are back to near record highs as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has returned to power, albeit with a slimmer majority for his alliance. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present the budget next month.