Indian shares opened on a positive note Wednesday as weak U.S. business activity data revived rate cut hopes and electric-vehicle giant Tesla struck an upbeat tone despite a sales miss.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 167 points, or 0.2 percent, at 73,906 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty index edged up by 45 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,413.
Among the top gainers, drug major Cipla rallied about 2 percent.
Metal stocks traded higher, with JSW Steel, Hindalco and Tata Steel all rising around 2 percent.
Indian Hotels jumped 1.8 percent and Axis Bank added 0.6 percent ahead of their earnings results due today.
Tata Consumer Products slumped 4.5 percent after mixed Q4 results.
ICICI Prudential Life lost 3 percent on reporting a 26 percent fall in Q4 net profit.
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