Indian shares were trading higher on Friday after an early slide triggered bargain hunting, a day after the market had fallen 2.3 percent in its biggest drop in more than six months. Shares in energy major Reliance Industries led the gainers, while top lender State Bank of India and No 2 ICICI Bank also climbed after being beaten down most of the week.
By 10:25 am (0455 GMT), the 30-share BSE index was up 0.6 percent at 19,353.70, with 20 of its components in the positive. The index fell as much as 0.8 percent in early trade. "People are seeing buying opportunities in select stocks, because the fundamentals of the economy remain the same," said K.K. Mital, chief executive for portfolio management services at Globe Capital Markets.
On Thursday, New Delhi widened the probe into the country's biggest corruption case to include decisions made during the main opposition party's rule, a move that may take steam out of a campaign against the government. Largest-listed Reliance Industries rose 2.6 percent to 1,010 rupees. It had lost nearly 5 percent through this week.
ICICI Bank was up 3 percent at 1,090 rupees, while State Bank of India rose 0.8 percent to 2,708.20 rupees. State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp was up 0.3 percent after the company bid for a 25-percent stake that the US energy major Exxon Mobil owns in an Angolan offshore oil block.
In the broader market, gainers were nearly 1.6 times the number of losers on volume of 101 million shares. The broader 50-share NSE index was up 0.7 percent at 5,804.75. Among key losers, HDFC Bank extended losses, down 2.1 percent at 2,190.80 rupees, after it raised fixed deposit rates by up to 75 basis points from Friday.
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