Indian shares rise as lower commodity prices lift consumer stocks

BENGALURU, July 4 (Reuters) - Indian shares recovered early losses to close higher on Monday as consumer stocks gained after commodity prices tumbled, overshadowing a selloff in metal companies due to worries over waning demand from top consumer China.

NSE Nifty 50 index closed up 0.53% at 15,835.35 and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.62% to 53,234.77. Both indexes had fallen about 0.5% during the session.

Wheat and oil prices tumbled, lifting the Nifty fast moving consumer goods index up 2.66%.

A reduction in commodity costs, including palm oil and wheat, should come as a relief for fast-moving goods companies, said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president, research at SMC Global Securities.

The Nifty metals index fell as much as 2.7% as iron ore and steel prices tumbled on the prospects of aggressive rate hikes stoked fears of global economic slowdown.

The Nifty IT index, meanwhile, dropped 0.6%.

"The broader market narrative remains unchanged with a slowdown in global manufacturing causing investors to re-examine views on stagflation versus recession amid lower commodity prices," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

Among individual companies, shares of cigarette to food products maker ITC rose as much as 3.15% to their highest since May 2019 at 293.30 rupees.

Supermarket chain operator Avenue Supermarts rose 3% after the company reported strong sales for the first quarter on Saturday.

Consumer company Hindustan Unilever was the top gainer in the Nifty 50 index, rising 4.1%, while JSW Steel fell the most, dropping 4.72%.

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)