Indian shares open higher on metal, banking gains

Indian shares edged up in early trade on Thursday to hover near record highs, led by metal and banking stocks, as investors overlooked signs of a slightly hawkish tilt by the US Federal Reserve overnight.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was up 0.65 per cent to 17,661.45 by 0346 GMT, and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.62 per cent to 59,294.41.

Overnight, the Fed said it would likely begin tapering its monthly bond buying as early as November, and indicated it could raise interest rates sooner than expected.