Indian shares set for third weekly gain on US trade deal hopes, foreign influx

May 2 (Reuters) – Indian shares held firm on Friday and were on course for a third straight week of gains, buoyed by optimism around an India-U.S. trade deal and steady foreign inflows.

The Nifty 50  was up 1.01% at 24,579.60 and the BSE Sensex gained 1.13% to 81,137.33 as of 10:13 a.m. IST. For the week, the 50-stock index is up 2.2%, while the Sensex has added 2.2%.

Financials led the pack, rising 0.9%. The broader small and mid-caps rose about 1% each.

Indian markets were shut on Thursday for a holiday.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had “potential” trade deals with India, South Korea and Japan, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said China wanted to begin trade negotiations with the U.S.

The positive developments lifted other Asian markets on the day.

“We think global equity investors are increasingly looking beyond the shores of the U.S. to diversify portfolios and capture growth opportunities elsewhere…. We think India (within EMs) and Japan (within DMs) appear best positioned to capture these reallocation flows,” Nomura analysts said.

Foreign portfolio investors scooped up Indian shares for 11 straight sessions till Wednesday, the longest buying streak in two years.

These investors turned net buyers of Indian equities in April after three consecutive months of selling.

Among individual stocks, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone jumped 5% and was the biggest percentage gainer on the Nifty 50, after it posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and forecast higher growth for fiscal 2026 on strong port volumes.

Car maker Maruti Suzuki India  rose 2.7% as its April sales increased 7% on-year, with both domestic and international sales increasing from last year.

PNB Housing Finance added 5.2% after a large deal on bourses. Multiple media reports said Carlyle Group was looking to sell its 10.44% stake in the housing finance company.