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Indian Shares pause Four-Day Run of Losses on IT Boost

BENGALURU, March 8 (Reuters) - Indian shares snapped their four-day run of losses in volatile trading on Tuesday, led by gains in information technology stocks, with investors staying on the sidelines over concerns rising oil prices could push inflation higher.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.95% to 16,013.45 at close and the S&P BSE Sensex climbed 1.1% to 53,424.09.

The Nifty IT index rose to an over two-week high earlier in the day and settled 2.69% higher.

"Domestic indices reversed their trend and traded with gains led by export-oriented sectors like pharma and IT which witnessed buying interest as the rupee fell to its record lows," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

The Indian rupee fell to a record low of 76.97 against the dollar on Monday. It closed at 76.905 on Tuesday.

Nifty's volatility index, which indicates the degree of volatility traders expect over the next 30 days in the Nifty50 index, was down 2.53% at 28.5875.

Oil prices surged past $126 a barrel on Tuesday, on fears sanctions against Russian oil could impact supply, with Moscow warning a ban would more than double the price to $300 a barrel.

India imports over two-thirds of its oil requirements, and rising prices push up the country's trade and current account deficit, while hurting its currency and fuelling inflation.

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse said it downgraded India to 'underweight' from 'overweight' and warned of potential risks that oil prices at $120 a barrel could add $60 billion to India's import bill.

"Higher oil prices hurt the current account, add to inflationary pressures and increase sensitivity to Fed rate hikes," Credit Suisse added.

Nifty's bank index, financial services index, private sector bank index, auto index and pharmaceuticals index were up between 0.80% and 2%. The metal index fell 1.48%.

Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Anil D'Silva and Krishna Chandra Eluri

Source: Reuters


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