Indian shares rose nearly 1 percent on Thursday, snapping seven sessions of fall, as market heavyweights such as Infosys Ltd and Housing Development Finance Corp helped the indexes end their longest spell of losses since September. The benchmark BSE index rose 0.97 percent to 34,413.16, while the broader NSE index ended 0.96 percent higher at 10,576.85.
The BSE and the NSE indexes shed nearly 6 percent each in the previous seven sessions, matching a losing streak of the same duration in September. Thursday's gains came even as Asian shares flirted with six-week lows. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed as US bond yields crept up towards four-year highs.
Analysts said they expected global markets to stabilise, but said caution would remain in India amid continued worries that accelerating inflation would force the Reserve Bank of India to raise interest rates. The RBI on Wednesday held rates steady and kept its policy stance at "neutral", with analysts saying the central bank's future action would depend on inflation.
"Market is into a trading zone with a broad-based recovery. The worst, as far as downside concerns and short-selling, is more or less done. But at the same time, the markets are not in clear waters yet with concerns over inflation," said Dharmesh Kant, an independent market expert. Pharma and realty stocks gained with the Nifty Pharma index and the Nifty Realty index climbing over 2.5 percent each.
Shares of Cipla surged as much as 6.85 percent after the country's fourth-largest drugmaker by revenue reported a 7 percent jump in quarterly profit on Wednesday. IT service exporters Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd climbed over 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.