Indian shares edged higher on Tuesday, posting their first gain in five sessions after well-received corporate results, including from Tata Power, offset worries the US Federal Reserve would increase rates as early as June.

The broader NSE index rose 17.8 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 7,748.85, after falling as much as 0.2 per cent earlier in the session. The index has lost 2 per cent over the previous four sessions.

The benchmark BSE index ended up 75.11 points or 0.3 percent at 25,305.47.

Among BSE sectoral indices, auto index gained the most by 0.32 per cent, banking 0.28 per cent, FMCG and metal 0.18 per cent each. On the other hand, oil & gas index fell the most by 1.01 per cent, healthcare 0.88 per cent, TECk 0.4 per cent and infrastructure 0.34 per cent.

Top five Sensex gainers were NTPC (+2.03%), Tata Motors (+1.7%), ICICI Bank (+1.56%), Tata Steel (+1.28%) and HDFC (+1.09%), while the major losers were Sun Pharma (-1.47%), Bajaj Auto (-1.33%), TCS (-0.97%), BHEL (-0.84%) and ONGC (-0.79%).

Among gainers, Tata Power rose 1.7 per cent after its fourth-quarter consolidated net profit doubled to Rs 360 crore ($53.24 million), beating analysts' estimates.

Novartis India gained over 17 per cent after the healthcare company said its board would consider a proposal for share buyback on May 26.

However, VRL Logistics plunged 20 per cent after the transportation and logistics company's promoters said they planned to start a regional airline in personal capacity.

Global markets

Oil prices fell for a fifth consecutive day on Tuesday and financial markets were volatile as investors wait to see whether US interest rates will be raised next month.

Asian shares stumbled to near 2-1/2-month lows overnight though Europe was in better form as confirmation that Germany’s economy had a solid start to the year added to hopes that talks in Brussels will secure an unusually swift aid deal for Greece.

Investors are now awaiting Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments at a panel event hosted by Harvard University on Friday.

Sentiment back home, however, remained supportive after March-quarter earnings mostly met or exceeded analysts' consensus estimates despite a slowdown in global growth and tepid demand.

“Usually when a policy decision is around the corner, some nervousness is seen in the market. It's a little less severe though with the current state of earnings, which are quite decent,” said Pankaj Pandey, head of research at ICICI Securities.

Asian shares fell to near 10-week lows on Tuesday and the US dollar pared some of its recent losses as investors were worried about the likelihood of a US interest rate increase in coming weeks.

A report by SMC Global said " Asian stocks fell for the first time in three days, as a stronger yen weighed on exporters in Japan and speculation mounted the U.S. is closer to raising interest rates. U.S. stocks finished lower Monday, giving up early gains as the prospect that interest rates might rise as soon as next month weighed on utilities shares.Eurozone consumer confidence improved for a second straight month and at a faster-than-expected pace in May to its highest level in four months, preliminary data from the European Commission. The flash consumer confidence index climbed to -7 from -9.3 in April. Economists had forecast a score of 9 for the month. The latest reading was the highest since the -6.3 registered in January. The confidence index for the EU rose 1.1 points to -5.7. The European Commission is set to publish final figures on May 30 along with the Economic Sentiment Indicator."

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