Global investors drive Indian shares to three-month high

Bengaluru (Reuters): Indian shares closed at a three-month high on Tuesday as global investors poured more cash, hoping to profit from a recovery in a market that has so far lagged its peers.

Heavyweight financial stocks provided the biggest boost to the bluechip NSE Nifty 50 index index, with the Nifty banking index gaining 2.8%.

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth more than 25 billion rupees ($330 million) in the past three sessions, Central Depository Services data showed.

This suggested global investors were pushing some of the huge surplus of cash pumped into the banking system by central banks to buy into Mumbai.

The local market is one of the worst performers among big emerging economies this year, and some analysts argue this has made it ripe for investments. The Nifty 50 index is down nearly 14% so far this year.

The NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 1.55% at 10,471 on Tuesday, and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 1.58% to 35,464.54. The Nifty’s close was its best since March 11.

The information technology index ended 1.5% higher after falling as much as 1% earlier in the session on worries over US` President Donald Trump’s plan to block the entry of foreign workers on H-1B visas.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd closed 6.7% higher and provided the top boost to the Nifty 50 index, while Bajaj Finance Ltd, which surged 9.3%, was the top gainer on the index.