Indian shares closed higher on Thursday, boosted by state-owned banks, as investors awaited the GDP growth data for the quarter ended September 30.
Nifty closed 0.42% higher at 12,151.15 after touching a fresh record high during the session. Sensex index ended up 0.27% at 41,130.17.
India's economy probably expanded 4.7%, its weakest pace in more than six years, in the quarter to September, a Reuters poll showed, as consumer demand and private investment weakened further and a global slowdown hit exports.
Bullish sentiment on the day of the futures and options expiry point to higher foreign investment, said S Hariharan, head of sales trading at Emkay Global Financial Services.
"FII (foreign institutional investor) positioning in index futures has turned to net long after a gap of six months."
The Nifty PSU index, which tracks state-owned banks, was up about 3.5% at close and was the top gainer for the day, while the metals index closed up 2.07%.
Bharti Infratel jumped 13.89% to end as the biggest gainer among Nifty stocks, while Zee Entertainment was the biggest laggard.
