Sensex, Nifty End Off Day's Highs

(RTTNews) - Indian shares pared early gains to end slightly higher on Friday, as U.S.-China tensions simmered and caution set in ahead of the all-important U.S. jobs data amid growing worries about a recession.

Stocks rose notably earlier, the rupee strengthened and bond yields rose after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked its benchmark lending rate for the third time in a row to tackle persistently high inflation.

After hiking the key lending rate by 50 basis points to pre-pandemic level of 5.40 percent, the RBI retained the real GDP growth projection for 2022-23 at 7.2 percent and left the inflation forecast for current fiscal year unchanged at 6.7 percent.

Global cues were mixed, with Asian markets ending broadly higher, while European stocks slipped in early trade amid signs of escalating tensions between China and Taiwan sparked by U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

China said it fired missiles over Taiwan for the first time, escalating tensions in the region. Additionally, China's foreign ministry announced sanctions against Pelosi and her immediate family members.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex hit an intra-day high of 58,649.19 before paring gains to end the session up 89.13 points, or 0.15 percent, at 58,387.93.

The broader NSE Nifty index ended up 15.50 points, or 0.09 percent, at 17,397.50 after having hit a high of 17,474.40 earlier in the day.

Bharti Airtel, UPL, ICICI Bank, UltaTech Cement and Shree Cement climbed 1-3 percent in the Nifty pack, while Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Hindalco and Britannia Industries all fell around 2 percent.