Sensex edges up; U.S. debt ceiling deal boosts sentiment

Indian shares rebounded on Thursday, propelled by financial stocks such as Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd, on positive sentiment as global markets recovered after the U.S. government agreed to raise its debt limit until December.

U.S. President Donald Trump forged a surprising deal with Democrats in Congress on Wednesday to extend the U.S. debt limit and provide government funding until Dec. 15, embracing his political adversaries and blindsiding fellow Republicans in a rare bipartisan accord.

The agreement, which eliminates the near-term risk of a government shutdown, helped the MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gain 0.5 percent. Japan`s Nikkei closed 0.2 percent higher.

The outlook for Indian markets still remains subdued given continued concerns over the escalating tensions around North Korea`s nuclear test, but analysts said markets were still being supported by domestic retail investments, preventing any steep losses.

"There has been a sustained inflow trend into domestic mutual funds and retail participation into equities markets. The liquidity flow is reasonably abundant," said Harish Krishnan, senior fund manager - equity at Kotak Mutual Fund.

"Given the stretched valuations, we don`t see a significant upside either," he added.

The Nifty was up 0.17 percent at 9,933.10 by 0606 GMT, while the Sensex was 0.11 percent higher at 31,695.42.

The Nifty Financial Services index climbed for the third consecutive session, led by Nifty 50 top percentage gainer Indiabulls Housing and Axis Bank Ltd, up as much as 4.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd, a maker of fibre cables and other telecom equipment, extended gains to rise as much as 9.96 percent to its highest in more than nine years after U.S.-based investment manager GMO LLC bought 11.1 mln shares at a premium of about 12 percent in a bulk deal on Wednesday.

Eicher Motors Ltd, the maker of Royal Enfield motorbikes, rose as much as 2.5 percent after the Economic Times reported the company is set to make a binding takeover bid for Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati for $1.8 billion-$2 billion.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)