Indian shares rose over 1 percent on Thursday, posting their biggest single-day percentage gain in nearly seven weeks, tracking higher Asian markets on bets the US Federal Reserve would raise rates in December but proceed cautiously on more tightening. The BSE index ended 1.41 percent higher, its biggest single-day percentage gain since October 5. The broader NSE index gained 1.43 percent, also its biggest single-day percentage gain since October 5.
Both indexes gained as much as 1.46 percent earlier and were heading for their highest close since November 11. Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday continued to flag December as a likely time for interest rates to rise, while conditioning further rate hikes on the state of the US economy.
The gains allowed indexes to recover from losses on Wednesday, when the benchmark BSE index recorded its biggest single-day percentage fall in nearly two months. "US Fed comments, Paris attacks being contained and since we were oversold there is some selective buying going on," said, Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas.
All sectors were trading in the green with strong gains made by financial and IT stocks that were beaten down in the previous session. Hero MotoCorp shares rose more than 3 percent, lifting other automobile stocks after the company said its retail sales crossed 1 million units in the festive season. TVS Motor Co was up 1.9 percent, while Maruti Suzuki gained 2.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Dr Reddy's Laboratories shares recovered to trade 2.5 percent lower after falling as much as 6.8 percent earlier in the day after the drugmaker said it followed all disclosure norms required by the US and Indian regulators. The stock fell after US law firm Lundin Law made a class action appeal over allegations of misleading statements from the Indian drugmaker.