Sensex on track to snap 4 days of losses on corporate results

(Reuters) - Indian shares edged higher on Tuesday, heading for their first gain in five sessions after well-received corporate results, including from Tata Power, offset lingering worries about rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Global markets remained edgy after San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Monday the U.S. central bank will likely tighten policy a bit more quickly in 2017 than this year, by perhaps one or two more rate hikes.

Investors are now awaiting Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments at a panel event hosted by Harvard University on Friday.

Sentiment back home, however, remained supportive after March-quarter earnings mostly met or exceeded analysts' consensus estimates despite a slowdown in global growth and tepid demand.

"Usually when a policy decision is around the corner, some nervousness is seen in the market. It's a little less severe though with the current state of earnings, which are quite decent," said Pankaj Pandey, head of research at ICICI Securities.

The broader NSE Nifty was 0.15 percent higher at 7,742.41 as of 0833 GMT, after falling as much as 0.2 percent earlier in the session. The index shed 2 percent in the previous four sessions.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 0.34 percent at 25,316.01.

Among gainers, Tata Power rose 1.7 percent after its fourth-quarter consolidated net profit doubled to 3.6 billion rupees ($53.24 million), beating analysts' estimates.

Novartis India gained 15 percent after the healthcare company said its board would consider a proposal for share buyback on May 26.

However, VRL Logistics plunged 20 percent after the transportation and logistics company's promoters said they planned to start a regional airline in personal capacity.

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