India stocks close at over nine-month high, Fed in focus

Indian shares had a solid start to November as benchmark indexes closed at over nine-month highs on Tuesday, with gains seen across sectors, while investor focus turned to this week's U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting for cues on future rate hikes.

Thirty-nine of 50 stocks on the NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) closed higher, lifting the index up 0.74% to 18,145.40, while the S&P BSE Sensex finished 0.62% higher at 61,121.35.

"Nifty surpassing the 18,100-mark ended a near seven-month consolidation. This kind of positivity could be because we are discounting possibility of big rate hikes being halted," said Ajit Mishra, Vice President - Research at Religare Broking, reported Reuters.

The Fed's meeting and RBI's comments will impact the performance of rate-sensitive stocks. A favourable announcement would result in a further uptick in the pack, which holds the key for Nifty's record highs, he added.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday.