Indian shares rose for a second straight session on Wednesday, the first back-to-back gains since the government's shock move to withdraw high-value banknotes from circulation, as Larsen & Toubro Ltd rallied on upbeat quarterly results while drug makers gained after the rupee weakened. The 30-stock BSE index closed up 0.35 percent at 26,051.81, while the broader NSE index ended 0.39 percent higher at 8,033.30.
Larsen & Toubro gained 2.1 percent. A positive finish on Wednesday would mark the first back-to-back gain for Indian stock markets since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government withdrew high-value currency notes from the market on November 8 in an effort to crack whip on black money circulation.
But traders said they still expected sentiment to remain weak given continued worries about the economic impact from Modi's action, with volatility expected ahead of the expiry of derivatives on Thursday.
"The rollover ahead of the expiry is 30 percent as of now, which is significantly lower than the 50-60 percent levels seen in the last three months," said Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd.
"Tuesday's gains aren't enough to start a vertical recovery in the market as investors have begun looking for an exit route."
L&T reported an 84 percent jump in its second-quarter net profit at 14.35 billion rupees ($209.69 million), beating analysts' average expectation of 8.55 billion rupees.
Among other gainers, some exporters rose after the rupee fell to as low as 68.52 per dollar, the weakest since late February, tracking a decline in emerging-market currencies.
Pharmaceutical company Cadila Healthcare Ltd gained as much as 2.7 percent, while Tata Consultancy Services Ltd was up about 1 percent.
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