Indian shares hit two-week highs boosted by metals, financials
Indian stocks on Wednesday closed at their highest levels in over two weeks, lifted by metals and financials, while foreign investors buying domestic stocks further boosted sentiment.
The Nifty 50 index 
NIFTY closed 0.62% higher at 18,165.35, while the S&P BSE Sensex 
SENSEX rose 0.64% to 61,045.74, extending gains for the second straight day.
The 30-stock gauge settled above 61,000 for the first time since Jan. 3.
"This will boost demand for construction materials and ultimately for metals," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice-president, research, at SMC Global Securities.
Both Hindalco Industries 
HINDALCO and Tata Steel 
TATASTEEL were the top gainers on the Nifty 50.
Heavyweight HDFC Bank 
HDFCBANK led the gains on the Nifty 50, rising 1.77% to extend gains from the previous session after it reported an 18.5% jump in third-quarter profit over the weekend.
The uptick in HDFC Bank and its parent Housing Development Finance Corporation 
HDFC lifted high weightage financials 
CNXFINANCE, which climbed 0.80% and supported the rise in benchmarks.
HDFC Bank was the first major domestic bank to report results over the weekend and set the stage for a robust quarterly performance from banks.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors snapped their 17-day sales run, the longest streak in six months, purchasing 2.11 billion rupees ($25.85 million) worth of equities on a net basis on Tuesday. They had sold shares worth 246.51 billion rupees ($3.02 billion) since Dec. 23.
Domestic valuations were not cheap after India outperformed major global benchmarks last year, analysts have said.
With China reopening its borders, funds are being reallocated to those markets where valuations are relatively attractive, they added.
The blue-chip Nifty 50 index added 4.33% in 2022, while the MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe IIACWI slumped 19.8%.
($1 = 81.6300 Indian rupees)
