BENGALURU: Indian shares snapped four sessions of losses on Tuesday, as metals and energy stocks marked a sharp recovery.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 0.5% at 17,503.35 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.34% to 58,664.33, after falling as much as 1.15% and 1.28% earlier in the session. The indexes lost nearly 4% each over the last four sessions. The Nifty Metal index ended the session 3.3% higher, helped by Vedanta Ltd, which rose nearly 8% on a report that its promoters were looking to buy up to 170 million shares of the mining company. Metal shares were also supported by a 10% surge in China’s benchmark iron ore futures, as steelmakers were set to resume production after rigorous controls over the past few months. Steel Authority of India Ltd and JSW Steel were among the top performers on the sub-index, rising 3.45% and 4% respectively.

The Nifty Energy index ended 2.03% higher. The United States is expected to announce a loan of crude oil from its emergency stockpile on Tuesday as part of a plan with major Asian energy consumers, including India, to lower energy prices.

Easing of oil prices globally is a tailwind but what is concerning is that foreign institutional investors are remaining as large sellers.