Indian shares hit 2-month high on finance boost

A man wearing a protective mask walks past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

BENGALURU, July 28 (Reuters) – Indian shares jumped to near two-month highs on Thursday, lifted by gains in non-bank lender Bajaj Finance after its quarterly earnings beat expectations, and as the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked rates on expected lines.

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was up 0.74% at 16,765.2, as of 0355 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.87% to 55,299.37, touching their highest level since June 3.

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s 0.75 percentage point hike in interest rates, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments dismissing chances of a recession gave markets some relief.

Bajaj Finance (BJFN.NS) surged 5.8% to its highest in nearly three months, topping gains on the Nifty 50, after the non-bank lender reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results.

Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) slid 2.8% in its biggest intraday drop in over a month after the automaker reported a bigger loss, hit by a jump in costs. read more

SpiceJet (SPJT.NS) dived 9.3% to a March 2020 low after India’s aviation regulator on Wednesday halved the budget carrier’s capacity citing recent safety snags. read more

Nifty 50 components Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (REDY.NS), Bajaj Finserv (BJFS.NS) and SBI Life Insurance (SBIL.NS) are scheduled to report results later in the day.

Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru
Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil

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