CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-Indian shares rise after Fed commits to lower interest rate; HDFC Bank top boost (March 18)

(Corrects to remove reference in fifth paragraph to Vodafone share move based on incorrect TRAI data, after the regulator issued revised data on March 31)

BENGALURU, March 18 (Reuters) – Indian shares clocked broad-based gains on Thursday, as global sentiment improved after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate near zero.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.95% at 14,861.65 by 0351 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.87% to 50,236.51, ahead of the weekly expiry of derivative contracts.

Both indexes had ended over 1% lower on Wednesday.

All 14 major sectoral indexes were higher in early trading, with HDFC Bank and mortgage lender HDFC Ltd being the top two boosts to the Nifty 50.

Meanwhile, the U.S. central bank’s decision to keep interest rates near zero sent Asian shares higher with the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan adding nearly 1%.

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