INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares rise in final session of 2022; IT, metals up

BENGALURU, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Indian shares opened

higher on Friday in the final session of 2022, aided by an

uptick in IT stocks, tracking gains in global equities. The Nifty 50 index was up 0.32% at 18,248.85, as of

09:55 a.m. IST, and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.32% to

61,328.04. Wall Street equities closed higher overnight after

weekly jobless claims rose, indicating the U.S. Federal

Reserve's rate hikes have had their intended effect on the

labour market. Asian markets also advanced, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan

index rising 0.58%. All the major sectoral indexes advanced, with information

technology and metals rising over 1%. Oil prices, which slid on concerns over demand recovery

in China, also aided gains in domestic equities. Low oil prices

are a positive for India, as crude constitutes the bulk of the

country's import bill. Forty-three of the Nifty 50 constituents rose with Tata

Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra

gaining over 1%.

($1 = 82.7580 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by

Krishna Chandra Eluri and Janane Venkatraman)