Indian shares rise on Mideast peace hopes

Indian shares erased early losses to end higher on Monday on hopes of easing Middle East tensions, with bank stocks leading gains after several lenders reported strong March-quarter loan growth, reports Reuters.

The Nifty 50 rose 1.12 per cent to 22,968.25 and the Sensex added 1.07 per cent to 74,106.85, after falling as much as 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, during the day.

Fifteen of the 16 major sectors rose. The broader small-caps and mid-caps gained 1.3 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively.

The United States and Iran received the framework of plan to end hostilities but Iran rejected immediately reopening the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump threatened to rain "hell" on Tehran if it did not make a deal the end of Tuesday.

Benchmark stock indexes in India reversed course following the report, while Brent Crude oil prices fell from $110 per barrel to $107.

"This is purely a headline-driven market as investors remain on edge over the Middle East war. If the report about peace plan solidifies, we could see Nifty rising towards 23,300 level," said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities.

"The buy-on-dips trend seen in last couple of sessions and encouraging provisional quarterly updates from companies also aided investor sentiment," Agrawal said.

Financials rose 2.3 per cent, led by 2.7 per cent jump in HDFC Bank and 2.9 per cent gains in Bajaj Finance. Axis Bank added 4 per cent.