Indian Shares Extend Gains For Third Day

(RTTNews) - Indian shares rose notably on Tuesday, with key benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty extending gains for a third consecutive session amid the easing of geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

The rupee was slightly higher against the dollar, while Brent crude futures held near $82 a barrel after reports suggested that U.S. President Trump may release a preliminary deal to end the war with Iran before Friday.

The specific terms of the deal remain unclear, but Trump assured that the Strait of Hormuz will be "fully open" on Friday, the day the signing ceremony is scheduled for the framework agreement between Washington and Tehran to end their war in the Middle East.

The benchmark BSE Sensex jumped 544.15 points, or 0.71 percent, to 76,808.48, after having surged nearly 3 percent over the past two trading sessions on expectations that the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran could help ease concerns over disruptions to global trade and energy supplies.

The broader NSE Nifty index settled 135.25 points, or 0.57 percent, higher at 23,989.15 as falling oil prices helped ease worries about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes gained 0.3 percent and half a percent, respectively.

The market breadth was strong on the BSE, with 2,383 shares rising while 1,866 shares fell and 158 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent gainers, HCL Technologies surged 3.6 percent after announcing that it will acquire a 10.46 percent minority stake in Axonwise Private Limited for Rs. 1,427.25 crore.

Bajaj Finance, TCS, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC and Bajaj FinServ all rose around 2 percent.