(RTTNews) - Indian shares closed higher for a third straight session on Thursday as signs of falling U.S. inflation fueled bets the Fed will lower interest rates in coming months.
Investors also reacted to the latest Federal Reserve interest-rate decision. The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday but cautioned that inflation is still too high to start cutting policy rates.
The latest projections showed Fed officials expect only one interest rate cut this year compared to the three forecast in March.
Closer home, industrial output and retail inflation data released after market hours on Wednesday painted a mixed picture of the Indian economy.
Government data showed India's retail inflation easing to a 12-month low of 4.75 percent annually in May, slightly down from the 4.83 percent recorded in April.
At the same time, India's industrial output growth slowed to a three-month low of 5 percent in April from 5.4 percent in March due to slower manufacturing growth.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended the session up 204.33 points, or 0.27 percent, at 76,810.90, with positive overnight cues from the U.S. and Europe as well as a fall in crude prices lending some support.
Oil prices were down about 1 percent in European trade, snapping a three-day winning streak after data showed an unexpected build in U.S. crude stockpiles and the IEA forecast a surplus petroleum production of up to eight million barrels per day by 2030.
The broader NSE Nifty index closed at 23,398.90, up 75.95 points, or 0.33 percent, from its previous close.
Titan Company, Divis Laboratories, HDFC Life, Mahindra & Mahindra and Shriram Finance jumped 3-5 percent in the Nifty pack while Britannia Industries, Power Grid Corp, Axis Bank, Eicher Motors and Hindustan Unilever dropped 1-2 percent.
