Indian shares were higher in early Asian trade on Monday, with energy explorers Reliance.
Industries 500325.BY +0.78% and Oil & Natural Gas Corp.500312.BY +1.33% extending their gains after the government's decision last week to double natural gas prices.
Industries 500325.BY +0.78% and Oil & Natural Gas Corp.500312.BY +1.33% extending their gains after the government's decision last week to double natural gas prices.
At 0435 GMT, the Bombay Stock Exchange's S&P BSE Sensex was 0.2% higher at 19443.14, while the National Stock Exchange's Nifty index rose 0.2% to 5854.95.
A recovery in the rupee against the U.S. dollar on talks of capital inflows lifted sentiment, dealers said. The greenback traded at 59.25 against the rupee, compared with 59.65 rupees late Friday in Asia.
Energy conglomerate Reliance Industries was up 1.0% at 870.00 rupees, while state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp gained 1.4% to 334.85 rupees.
Automobile stocks were mixed ahead of the release of vehicle sales numbers for June. Vehicle sales in India have been slowing down over the past few months amid weak economic growth. India's gross domestic product growth dropped to a decade low of 5% in the financial year ended March 2013.
Analysts expect June sales to remain weaker but the numbers will give some indication if good start to monsoon rains is leading to a pickup in demand.
Tata Motors 500570.BY +0.50% was 1.0% higher at 284.30 rupees, while Mahindra & Mahindra 500520.BY -0.62% dropped 0.2% to 964.70 rupees. Bajaj Auto was down 1.0% at 1,899.30 rupees.
Source: WSJ
