Nifty hits 18-month high after weak U.S. jobs data

REUTERS - The Nifty jumped 1 percent to an 18-month high on Tuesday after tepid U.S. payrolls data last week tempered expectations of a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Sentiment was also boosted by gains in Asian stock markets as traders trimmed the probability of a Fed rate hike this month to 21 percent from 24 percent on Thursday, according to CME Group's FedWatch programme.

Indian markets were closed on Monday, making Tuesday the first trading session since data on Friday showed U.S. employment growth slowed more than expected in August after two straight months of robust gains.

Foreign investors have been buying into Indian shares apart from those in other emerging markets this year, bringing the total net investments in the year to $6.05 billion.

"September rate hike talks have been put to rest now. Therefore, this liquidity-driven rally is expected to continue for the time being, which is comforting our markets," said Pankaj Pandey, head of research at ICICI Securities.

The benchmark Sensex was up 1.04 percent at 28,827.70 as of 0535 GMT after hitting its highest since April 16, 2015 earlier in the session.

The broader Nifty was up 0.98 percent at 8,895.79 after earlier hitting its highest since March 5, 2015.

Among the gainers, Tata Motors Ltd hit a five-month high and was last up 2.6 percent after the Economic Times newspaper reported unit Jaguar Land Rover was planning to make Land Rover SUVs in India for both the local and overseas markets.

Car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd gained 2 percent after data showed its total production rose 3.2 percent in August.

Among the losers, Jubilant Foodworks Ltd plunged as much as 9.9 percent to a more than two-month low after the operator of Domino's Pizza and Dunkin Donuts chains in India posted a 31 percent drop in its June-quarter profit on Saturday.

MindTree Ltd dropped as much as 7.6 percent to its lowest since October 2014 after the IT services firm said on Friday it expected its second-quarter revenue to be lower than the previous quarter.

Telecoms firm Idea Cellular Ltd shed as much as 2.3 percent on Tuesday before bouncing back. It hit its lowest since October 2012 on Friday after Reliance Industries announced its foray into the telecom sector.

Bharti Airtel Ltd dropped as much as 1.7 percent after declining as much as 9 percent and 1.3 percent in the previous two sessions following the announcement of Reliance Industries' telecom venture.

(Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)