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Indian shares were trading higher on Wednesday, led by consumer and tech stocks and in lockstep with other Asian equities, while investors awaited domestic earnings reports to gauge corporate health.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.23% to 18,244.45 as of 0350 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.24% to 61,333.74, adding to gains seen in the last two sessions. The market was closed on Tuesday for a holiday.

Meanwhile, data showed foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities for eight straight days.

They bought net of 19.49 billion Indian rupees ($239.52 million) equities on Monday, while domestic investors sold 8.44 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange.

Investors are now turning focus to a key U.S. inflation reading due on Thursday, which is expected to show easing consumer prices and provide hints to the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate outlook.

In domestic trading, Nifty's FMCG and IT indexes were among the top performing sectors, adding 0.53% and 0.33%, respectively.

Tata Motors Ltd and Petronet LNG Ltd were up 0.3% each, while Lupin Ltd was down 1.4%, ahead of their quarterly results.

In broader Asia, shares rose on Wednesday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data as well as the results of the U.S. midterm elections that could signify a power shift in Washington. [MKTS/GLOB]