Indian shares rise as finance, auto stocks gain

BENGALURU, Sept 19 (Reuters): Indian shares ended higher on Monday, lifted by gains in financials and auto companies, while investors prepared for a host of central bank meetings this week to gauge the impact of rate hikes on global economy.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.5 per cent to 17,622.25 and the S&P BSE Sensex ended up 0.5 per cent at 59,141.23. Both the indexes lost over 1.5 per cent last week.
Investors braced for a week littered with 13 central bank meetings that are certain to see borrowing costs rise across the globe, with some risk of a super-sized increase in the United States.
"The entire market is focusing on US Federal Reserve statement this week even though it has already discounted a 75 basis points rate hike," said Prashanth Tapse, research analyst, Mehta Equities.
Markets will be looking at the Fed's guidance for November, when another 75 basis points hike is expected, Tapse said.
Despite the Indian markets losing nearly 2 per cent last week, foreign investors purchased a net $819 million worth of domestic equities, although they disposed of a net $258 million in the last two trading sessions, according to Refinitiv Eikon.