INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares begin 2023 on a positive note on metals boost

BENGALURU, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on

Monday, the first trading session of 2023, helped by an uptick

in metals and financials. The Nifty 50 index was up 0.41% at 18,180.50 as of

10:48 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.43% to

61,103.38. Most of the major sectoral indexes logged gains, with metals

and high-weightage financials rising

1.8% and 0.8%, respectively. "COVID is the major monitorable in the very near term," said

Yogesh Nagaonkar, founder and CEO of Rowan Capital Services,

adding that banking stocks would likely outperform over the next

few sessions on strong earnings outlook. China announced plans to raise export tariffs on aluminium

from Jan. 1 in a bid to improve domestic demand, which analysts

said will aid market-share growth for Indian companies. Demand for metals would improve due to China's reopening as

well, analysts added, if the COVID situation remains manageable

in the world's second-largest economy. Asian markets were trading mixed, with the MSCI Asia

ex-Japan index rising 0.09%. The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) managing director

warned that 2023 would be a tougher year for the global economy

as all the major engines of global growth–United States, China

and Europe–are experiencing weakening activity. Capping gains in domestic equities was crude oil, which rose

on year-end holiday travel, with Brent crude futures at

around $86 per barrel. Higher oil prices hurt oil-importing

countries like India, where crude constitutes the bulk of the

country's import bill. Thirty-two of the Nifty 50 constituents advanced, with Tata

Steel and Hindalco rising over 2.5%. Among individual stocks, Tata Motors jumped nearly

2% and was among the top Nifty 50 gainers, after the company

reported a 10% rise in domestic sales in December. ($1 = 82.7170 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by

Uttaresh.V, Savio D'Souza, and Janane Venkatraman)