Indian shares firmed 1.1 percent on Wednesday, helped by gains in world equities and as value buying emerged on views that most negatives were already priced in. Financials led the gains, ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy review on Thursday, as investors discounted a likely 25 basis point rate hike and did not expect very aggressive policy actions.
The banking sector index gained 2.2 percent. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 1.05 percent, or 191.05 points, to 18,358.69 points, with 24 of its components finishing higher. The 50-share NSE index climbed 1.1 percent to 5,511.15 points. The benchmark BSE index is down 10.5 percent year-to-date, with foreign funds pulling out around $1.7 billion from Indian stocks from the start of 2011 to March 14.
Its other BRIC peers have fared relatively better. Brazil's Bovespa is down 3.3 percent in 2011, while Russia's RTS Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index have gained 9.2 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, business sentiment at Asia's top companies rose in the first quarter to its highest level in eight quarters, with global economic uncertainty seen as the biggest risk to the positive outlook, a Reuters survey showed on Wednesday. In the broader market, gainers beat losers in the ratio of 1.8:1, while 263 million shares traded on the BSE.
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