REUTERS - Indian shares edged up on Friday, helped by gains in auto stocks such as Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors on upbeat August sales data, while broader sentiment was subdued ahead of a key U.S. jobs report later in the day.
Asian stock markets wobbled and the dollar was on the defensive as caution prevailed after downbeat U.S. manufacturing data tempered recent optimism on the world's largest economy that had revived expectations for a near-term rate hike by the Fed.
"The markets are in a consolidation phase after hitting 52-week highs earlier in the week," said Mangesh Kulkarni of Almondz Global Securities Ltd. "In the near-term, the NSE index will be factoring in global cues like the U.S. jobs data and foreign institutional investments to hit a possible 9,000 points."
Sensex was up 0.23 percent at 28,488.73 as of 0704 GMT and Nifty was up 0.14 percent at 8,786.80, heading for their fourth session of gains in five.
Sensex looked set for its first weekly gain in three, while Nifty was on track to snap three straight weeks of losses.
Shares of most Indian auto companies gained, with the Nifty Auto index rising as much as 1.2 percent to a record high, after Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors logged robust monthly sales figures.
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Hero MotoCorp jumped as much as 1.87 percent to a record high of 3,614 rupees after the company reported a 28 percent surge in its total vehicle sales for August, while Tata Motors rose 2.3 percent after posting a 6 percent increase in its monthly sales.
Meanwhile, Idea Cellular extended losses, shedding as much as 3.4 percent, after Reliance Industries Ltd announced its foray in to the telecom sector.
Bharti Airtel Ltd dropped up to 1.4 percent before bouncing back. It slumped 6.3 percent on Thursday after Reliance Industries unveiled its telecom venture.
Among auto stocks, Bajaj Auto Ltd fell 2.5 percent after posting a 5.1 percent fall in its August sales.
(Reporting by Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)