July 1 (Reuters) – Indian shares opened marginally higher on Wednesday, helped by gains in auto stocks as June sales data trickled in, while lingering caution around a lack of progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations capped gains.
The benchmark Nifty 50 rose 0.22% to 23,919 and the BSE Sensex edged 0.26% higher at 76,691.47, respectively, as of 9:19 a.m. IST.
Iran said on Tuesday it would not meet senior U.S. envoys who travelled to the region following an outbreak of hostilities, clouding prospects for a lasting peace between the two countries.Brent crude futures still trade near $73 per barrel, while Asian markets were down 0.3%.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors logged gains at the open. Auto index gained 1% while pharma stocks added 0.8%. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Nivedita Bhattacharjee.
