Credit: REUTERS/FRANCIS MASCARENHASBy Chandini Monnappa
May 27 (Reuters) - Indian shares inched higher on Monday, boosted by gains in utility and financial stocks, as cheer over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return for a second term in office continued to buoy investor sentiment.
Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) witnessed a landslide victory in the general election results on Thursday and markets have been jubilant over hopes that the prime minister would pursue business-friendly policies.
"We have a new government and we are seeing stock specific rally. There will be sectors which are likely to outperform and markets are now waiting for a new policy," said AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital in Mumbai.
The broader NSE index .NSEI was up 0.35% at 11885.75 as of 0500 GMT, while the benchmark BSE index .BSESN was trading 0.42% higher at 39601.55.
Shares of NTPC Ltd NTPC.NS and Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS were up over 4.5% each, while Power Grid Corporation India PGRD.NS was trading nearly 2% higher.
Industrial conglomerate Larsen & Toubro LART.NS, which started a hostile takeover bid for Bengaluru-based IT firm Mindtree Ltd MINT.NS in March, was among the top five gainers on the NSE index. The company on Friday increased its stake in Mindtree to over 28%.
Shares of Interglobe Aviation Ltd INGL.NS rose as much 1.9% to 1,653 rupees. Interglobe is scheduled to post quarterly results later in the day.
JSW SteelJSTL.NS and Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS were among the major losers, both inching nearly 2% lower.
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
((chandini.m@thomsonreuters.com; +91-82-6749-7919; Reuters Messaging: chandini.m.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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