Indian shares gain on rising bets from global investors

Indian shares rose on Tuesday, driven by broad-based gains across sectors on the back of increased inflows from global investors, while IT stocks reversed course to trade higher, shrugging off concerns over U.S. visa restrictions.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.6% to 10,373 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.52% at 35,095.76 as of 0534 GMT.

The Nifty fast moving consumer index surged 2% and was the top boost to the bluechip index.

Foreign institutional investors have been net buyers for the past few sessions, Central Depository Services data showed, suggesting more global investors were pushing some of the huge surplus of cash pumped into the banking system by central banks to buy back into Mumbai.

The local market is one of this year's worst performers among big emerging economies and some analysts argue this has made it ripe for investment.

"Unprecedented amount of stimulus packages, driven by global central banks, is leading liquidity flows across asset classes that give quick returns," said Siddharth Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Securities.

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The information technology index was up 0.9% after falling as much as 1% in the early session on worries over Trump's plan to block the entry of foreign workers on H-1B visas.

"For IT industry, being onsite definitely helps, but they can still manage and it is not like the business will go away suddenly. For the last two years, companies have ramped up local hiring," Khemka said.

Indian IT outsourcing companies rely on H-1B visas to send engineers and developers to work with their clients in the United States, which is also their biggest market.

Shares of heavyweights Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd rose 1.2% and 0.5%, respectively, recovering from a more than 1% drop each.

Hindustan Unilever rose 3% and was the top boost in the Nifty 50 index, while UPL Ltd, which gained 4.6%, was the top gainer on the index.

Meanwhile, Asian shares see-sawed in a wild ride on Tuesday following confusing statements from the White House over the U.S.-China trade deal, with President Donald Trump later clarifying the pact was "fully intact."

Reuters