(Corrects to 4,000 stores from 45,000 stores in paragraph 9)
(Reuters) -Indian shares rose on Thursday, led by financials, with analysts attributing the rise to cheaper valuations in the sector amid a lack of major triggers and thin trading as the year-end approaches.
The Nifty 50 added 0.2% to 23,774.7 points as of 10:03 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex rose 0.16% to 78,599.92.
“The Nifty is consolidating within a narrow range of 23,900 to 23,500 levels this week, reflecting indecision among market participants,” said Mandar Bhojane, research analyst at Choice Broking.
Analysts also said that directional clarity would only emerge after the corporate earnings season begins in the second week of January.
Eight of the 13 major sectors advanced. High-weighted financials gained 0.5%, which analysts attributed to investors searching for safety due to cheaper valuations.
The broader smallcaps and midcaps each shed 0.2%.
Among individual stocks, drug maker Panacea Biotech rose 5% after receiving an order from UNICEF worth $14.95 million for the supply of 115 million doses of its bivalent oral polio vaccine, bOPV, in fiscal year 2025.
Construction company Ramky Infrastructure increased 3% after winning an order worth 2.15 billion Indian rupees (about $25 million).
Electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric rose about 4% after expanding its network to 4,000 stores. The stock has risen 10% in December so far, on course for its best month since listing in August.
Infrastructure company Ceigall India rose 3.5% after signing a deal with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a project worth 9.81 billion rupees.
($1 = 85.2350 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Sumana Nandy)
