Indian shares inch up as risk sentiment improves, volatility eases

Indian shares rose for a third straight session on Tuesday and volatility plunged to within a whisker of its record closing low as worries over a major escalation in the Middle East conflict abated.

The NSE Nifty 50 NIFTY settled 0.14% higher at 22,368, while the S&P BSE Sensex SENSEX rose 0.12% to 73,738.45. They have gained about 1.7% each over the past three sessions.

Asian markets advanced 0.8% as investors scaled back safe-haven bets on easing worries of a wider Mideast conflict.

The Indian stock market's volatility index (NIFVIX) plunged in its steepest one-day decline since May 23, 2019, when the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party was re-elected for a second term, and settled just a few percentage points shy of its record closing low from July 28, 2023.

Besides the tempering of Mideast tensions, in-line company earnings are also supporting gains and draining volatility, said Kranti Bathini, equity strategist at WealthMills Securities.

The top Nifty 50 gainers included Nestle India NNESTLEIND, Hindustan Unilever HINDUNILVR and HCL Tech HCLTECH, all due to report quarterly results later this week, which gained 0.9%-2%.

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services M_MFIN dropped 5.52% after uncovering company funds were embezzled by forging some documents for retail vehicle loans at one of its branches.

Reliance Industries RELIANCE1!, the second-heaviest Nifty 50 stock, fell 1.39%, capping the index's gains, despite reporting a quarterly profit that edged past analysts' estimates.

Tejas Networks TEJASNET surged 20%, while Hatsun Agro HATSUN climbed 9%, rallying after strong quarterly results.

They were the top gainers in the broader, more domestically-focussed small-cap index CNXSMALLCAP, which gained 1.23%. The mid-caps CNXMIDCAP rose by a similar margin.