India shares post fourth straight weekly gain ahead of inflation data
BENGALURU - Indian shares extended gains from previous trading sessions on Friday to post their fourth weekly addition, fuelled by metal and energy stocks, while investors awaited domestic inflation data for July.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is scheduled to be released after market close. A Reuters poll showed India's retail inflation likely eased in July due to a fall in food and fuel prices but stayed well above the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit of 6% for a seventh consecutive month.
The NSE Nifty 50 index climbed 0.22% to 17,698.15, at close, and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.22% to 59,462.78.
With a gain of over 1.7% each for the truncated week due to a market holiday on Tuesday, the benchmark indexes still logged their fourth straight weekly gain - the longest winning streak since January. Both the indexes climbed 6% in the past four weeks, having risen 1.8% year-to-date, Refinitiv data showed.
Indian equities market will be closed on Monday for a holiday.
In Mumbai trading on Friday, Nifty's metal index <.NIFTYMET> and energy index were the best performers among other sub-indexes, climbing 1.64% and 1.88%, respectively.
Among top-performers on the Nifty 50, state-owned oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp rose 4.8% ahead of its quarterly earnings, while Tata Steel advanced 3.3%.
SoftBank Group-backed digital payments firm Paytm closed 5% lower after local proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services said it opposed the reappointment of Vijay Shekhar Sharma as chief executive officer.
The Indian rupee ended lower on Friday to post a weekly loss, as a likely one-time dollar outflow dragged the currency as against stronger Asian peers that gained from softening U.S. inflation data. [INR/]
Globally, equities headed for a fourth straight week of gains as investors tempered views on how far U.S. interest rates and inflation can climb.[MKTS/GLOB]