India's Sensex crosses 32,000 level; Tata Steel climbs

Asian shares reached a 10-year peak with investors breathing a sigh of relief as North Korean fears eased slightly.

sensex
A man looks at a screen across a road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India. REUTERS

Indian shares rose for a fourth session on Tuesday, tracking gains in other Asian equities as geopolitical tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile programme receded.

Asian shares hit a 10-year peak with investors breathing a sigh of relief as North Korean fears eased slightly.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.2 percent to its highest level since late 2007. Japan's Nikkei added 1.0 percent.

On Wall Street on Monday, U.S. S&P 500 Index surged over 1 percent to a record high close of 2,488.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea on Monday over the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, imposing a ban on the country's textile exports and capping imports of crude oil, Reuters reported.

At 0605 GMT, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.55 percent at 32,057 while the broader NSE Nifty rose 0.47 percent at 10,052.

Investors are also keeping a close eye on Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for July and inflation data for August schedued for release later in the day.

Among the top index gainers, Tata Steel advanced 3.5 percent, Sun Pharma rose 2 percent, State Bank of India rose 1.5 percent while Axis Bank gained 1.4 percent.

The S&P BSE Metal Index added 0.9 percent while the S&P BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods index was up 0.8 percent.

Tata Steel was amongst the top index gainers. Thyssenkrupp AG could reach an in principle agreement this month to merge its European steel business with that of Tata Steel Ltd, the German group said on Monday.

Strides Shasun gained 3 percent after the company said it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Potassium Citrate extended-release tablets.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries advanced after the company said it got U.S. FDA nod for cholesterol drug, Fenofibrate tablet.

Among the laggards, Speciality Restaurants declined 3 percent its loss for the June quarter widened to Rs 15 crore from Rs 5.6 crore a year ago.

Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.

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