Indian stocks see gains on strong services sector growth
12:00, 5 October 2021
Indian stocks finished higher Tuesday following the release of data showing the nation’s services sector continued to expand during the month of September.
The National Stock Exchange’s NIFTY 50 Index closed 0.74% higher at 17,822.30. The S&P BSE SENSEX ended 0.75% higher at 59,744.88.
The NIFTY Oil & Gas Index, a basket of 15 stocks, including the state-run Oil and Natural Gas (ONGC), jumped 2.77% on rising crude prices. Meanwhile, the NIFTY Realty Index, a basket of 10 stocks including home builder Sobha, dropped 1.36%.
Data published by IHS Markit showed that India’s services sector expanded for a second consecutive month in September.
Gainers and losers
The Indian rupee was trading 0.016% higher to the US dollar, to INR74.56 at 18:03 hours Indian time (UTC +5:30).
On the NIFTY, shares of energy giant ONGC, IndusInd Bank and mining behemoth Coal India were the top gainers, adding 10.77%, 5.02% and 4.21%, respectively.
Meanwhile, drug-maker Cipla, Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco Industries and Shree Cement were the top losers, shedding 2.4%, 2.08% and 1.84%, respectively.
On the SENSEX, shares in IndusInd Bank, telco Bharti Airtel and oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries were the biggest gainers, adding 4.6%, 2.66% and 2.08%, respectively.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, the Power Grid Corporation of India and cigarette-maker ITC were the biggest losers, shedding 1.36%, 0.91% and 0.76%, respectively.
Bank lending
India's largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, said its advances and deposits increased for the quarter ended 30 September, pointing to a revival in the economy.
The Mumbai-headquartered bank said on Monday that advances aggregated to INR11.98trn, 15.4% higher than the same period last year and 4.4% higher than the previous quarter.
Read more: India’s services sector activity expands a second month
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