BENGALURU, March 22 (Reuters) - Indian shares staged a mid-day reversal to end over 1% higher on Tuesday, helped by gains in heavyweight information technology stocks and conglomerate Reliance Industries.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index closed 1.16% higher at 17,315.50, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.22% to end at 57,989.30.
Both indexes had lost nearly 1% on Monday on rising oil prices, and extended those losses in the first half of the current session.
However, a slight pullback in crude prices, buying in defensive information technology stocks and a gain of 2.6% in bellwether Reliance helped lift equities.
The Nifty IT index added 1.96%, only its third session of gains in eight, with Tech Mahindra ending as the top percentage gainer on the Nifty 50.
Investors also looked past the implications on domestic inflation due to the rise in oil prices. On Monday, the central bank governor said inflation was expected to moderate going forward despite "unimaginably uncertain" global prices.
State-controlled fuel retailers in India, which is the world's third-biggest consumer and importer of oil, will raise petrol and diesel pump prices for the first time since November, two dealers told Reuters late on Monday.
Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp gained 1.4%-3.1%.
Among the few sub-indices to end in the red was the Nifty FMCG Index, which fell 0.73%. Consumer giant Hindustan Unilever lost 2.8% and was the top percentage loser on the Nifty 50.
Shares of Future Group companies dropped between 11.2% and 14.9%. Indian lenders are set to initiate debt recovery proceedings against Future Retail this week.
Globally, Asian and European shares were a little higher, with investors adjusting their expectations for rate hikes following hawkish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Uttaresh.V and Krishna Chandra Eluri
Source: Reuters