Indian shares held gains on Thursday, with the broader NSE Nifty index hovering near 9,900 level, as better-than- expected earnings by some blue-chip companies lifted sentiment.
At 0630 GMT, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.04 percent to 31,968 while the broader NSE Nifty shed 0.02 percent to 9,897.
In Asia, stocks climbed for a ninth straight day. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.15 percent, hovering near its highest level since December 2007.
Stocks of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Reliance Industries were trading higher by up to 1.8 percent ahead of earnings, to be released later in the day.
Oil and Natural Gas climbed 2 percent after cabinet approved sale of the government's stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp to ONGC.
Other gainers included Axis Bank, Cipla, Coal India and Larsen and Toubro, up between 1 percent and 3 percent.
Among the laggards, KPIT Technologies fell 2.7 percent after its net profit grew marginally in the first quarter.
Canara Bank shed 3.4 percent after a lower-than-expected quarterly net profit.
Market breadth was in the favour of losers, with about 2 stocks declining to every 1 stock that advanced.
