Indian share prices closed 1.94 percent higher on Wednesday, gaining for a third straight day, as funds bought shares on the back of strong first-quarter earnings, dealers said.
They said the markets rose on strong quarterly results announced by state-owned ONGC, telecom Bharti Airtel and automobile giant Mahindra and Mahindra but added they were uncertain whether the upward trend would last.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex index was up 201.66 points at 10,617.27. India's oil biggest producer, Oil and Natural Gas Corp, said first-quarter net profit jumpedby 24 percent to 41.18 billion rupees (879 million dollars), beating market forecasts. Investors ignored a widely expected 25-basis-point hike by the central bank Tuesday to a four-year high of 6.00 percent.
Stocks have risen 5.2 percent in the past three trading sessions. "The markets saw some amount of buying interest from institutions led by strong earnings from several corporates but it's too early to say if this trend will be sustained," said Atul Hatwar, dealer at brokerage Crosseas Securities.