Indian shares inch higher as consumer stocks gain
BENGALURU - Indian shares edged up on Wednesday, driven by consumer stocks, while data showed that the country's economic growth slowed to the lowest in a year in the first three months of 2022.
The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.24% at 16,625.05 by 0352 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.28% to 55,733.47. On Tuesday, both indexes snapped three straight sessions of gains as a rally in technology stocks paused and banking stocks fell.
On Wednesday, Tata Consumer and Hindustan Unilever rose over 1% each and were among the top percentage gainers on the Nifty 50 index.
After market hours on Tuesday, government data showed India's gross domestic product grew 4.1% year-on-year in January-March, below the 5.4% growth in Oct-December and growth of 8.4% in July-Sept.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks steadied although investors were jittery after eurozone inflation rose to a record high and stoked concerns about rate rises globally.[MKTS/GLOB]