Indian Shares End Modestly Higher After Choppy Session

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly higher on Tuesday after India and the European Union confirmed that they had signed a historic trade pact.

The long-awaited free trade agreement is expected to significantly expand the overall trajectory of two-way engagement in a range of sectors and reduce dependence on the unpredictable U.S. relationship.

The giant free trade deal will cut or eliminate tariffs on almost 97 percent of European exports, saving up to 4 billion euros ($4.75 billion) annually in duties, the 27-nation bloc said.

For India, the tariff cuts with the EU will lead to more exports in labor intensive sectors that will help partly offset the impact of U.S. tariffs.

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session up 319.78 points, or 0.39 percent, at 81,857.48 after a choppy ride on worries over U.S. President Donald Trump's additional tariffs announcement on South Korea and escalating U.S.-Iran tensions.

The broader NSE Nifty index closed up 126.75 points, or 0.51 percent, at 25,175.40.

The BSE mid-cap index edged up by 0.4 percent while the small-cap index finished marginally lower.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2.334 shares falling while 1,958 shares advanced and 181 shares closed unchanged.

Among the top gainers, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Axis Bank and Adani Ports rallied 3-4 percent.

On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra slumped 4.2 percent, Kotak Mahindra Bank tumbled 3.1 percent, Asian Paints lost 2.8 percent and Eternal gave up 2 percent.