Sensex, Nifty rise tracking global cues, ECB meet eyed

By Darshana Sankararaman

REUTERS - Indian shares rose more than 1 percent on Thursday after Wall Street hit a record high overnight and as investors expected the European Central Bank to extend its asset buying campaign at a policy meeting later in the day.

The gains helped domestic shares overcome declines in the previous session after the Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly kept interest rates unchanged despite investor concerns about the impact of Prime Minister Modi's demonetisation drive.

Asian shares hopped to one-month highs, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gaining 1.2 percent.

Lenders also gained after the RBI reversed an order that forced banks to deposit all their extra cash with it in a bid to absorb excess liquidity.

"Today's market move is more to do with global markets, which are doing well," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.

The Nifty was up 1.39 percent at 8,214.45 by 0614 GMT, with only four stocks trading in the red.

The Sensex was 1.39 percent higher at 26,601.44.

Financial stocks were among the biggest gainers, with HDFC Bank Ltd and State Bank of India gaining more than 1 percent each. The Nifty bank index rose as much as 1.24 percent, after losing 1 percent in the previous session.

The Nifty auto index climbed 2.61 percent to its highest in nearly a month. Tata Motors Ltd and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd were the biggest percentage gainers, gaining 4.10 percent and 2.70 percent, respectively.

(Reporting by Darshana Sankararaman in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)