Indian shares snap 3-day losses as banks gain

BENGALURU, Oct 12 (Reuters): Indian shares ended higher on Wednesday, snapping a three-session losing streak, as bank and energy stocks gained ahead of domestic retail inflation data release that will be key to gauge interest rate outlook.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.82 per cent to 17,123.60 at close, and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.84 per cent to 57,625.91, after posting their biggest intraday gain in over a week.
The country's retail inflation likely accelerated to a five-month high of 7.30 per cent in September due to surging food prices, according to a Reuters poll. The data is due at 1200 GMT. read more
"The domestic market is resilient because when it comes to inflation, the situation here is not that grim and it is expected to moderate," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice-president of research at SMC Global Securities.
Earlier in the day, a fall in oil prices had boosted domestic sentiment. India as the world's third-biggest importer benefits from a fall in crude prices, as it brings down imported inflation.
IT stocks were among the top gainers, recovering from a fall on Tuesday.
The Nifty's IT index closed 0.82 per cent higher, with Wipro Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd settling 0.9 per cent and 1.4 per cent higher, respectively, ahead of their quarterly earnings reports.
Power Grid Corp of India and Axis Bank climbed 3.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively, and were the top performers on the Nifty 50 index.
The Nifty's energy, private sector and public sector bank indexes also advanced between 0.9 per cent and over 1.5 per cent.
Asian stocks were at two-year lows, hit by volatility on Wall Street and a stronger dollar.
In early trades on Wednesday, European equities held steady, and sterling recovered after hitting a 13-day low overnight.