By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares rose on Friday, tracking the rebound in global equities after authorities took a slew of measures to support the global banking system, whetting risk appetite.
The Nifty 50 index closed 0.67% higher at 17,100.05, while the S&P BSE Sensex finished 0.62% higher at 57,989.90.
However, both indexes posted losses of nearly 2% for the week, their biggest such drop in nearly a month, chiefly due to steep declines earlier in the week after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
The fallout of those closures threatened to spill over more broadly, with U.S. regional lender First Republic Bank and Swiss lender Credit Suisse the new focal points before an infusion of funds helped stave off a crisis and pushed global stocks higher. [MKTS/GLOB]
“The measures inspire confidence in financials in the near term,” said Dipan Mehta, director of Elixir Equities, but warned of “a potential contagion effect across financials”.
Still, Indian bank stocks rose over 1% on the day. Overall, nine of the 13 major sectoral indices logged gains, with information technology (IT) stocks also up 1%.
Regional U.S. banks account for about 2%-3% of revenue at TCS and Infosys, the highest in the IT sector, J.P. Morgan said.
Further, investors are increasingly expecting the Federal Reserve to go easy on rate hikes, which led to SVB’s collapse, and that bodes well for spending among IT firms’ U.S. clients.
“The Fed needs to manage a delicate balancing act between price stability and financial stability, with a likely 25 basis-point hike next week,” said Aishvarya Dadheech, fund manager at Ambit Asset Management.
TCS shares ended 0.18% lower after CEO Rajesh Gopinathan unexpectedly resigned, though analysts expect a smooth transition.
Index heavyweights HDFC and HDFC Bank rose roughly 1.3% each after a report said the National Company Law Tribunal had approved their merger.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
