Indian shares rose for a fourth straight session early on Wednesday, with gains seen across the board, as Asian peers inched higher after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sounded less hawkish than expected in a testimony to Congress.

At 9.30 a m, the NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.54% to 18,150.90, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.5% to 60,931.40. The blue-chip indexes have gained roughly 2% each this week.

Asian shares rose on Wednesday and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 recorded overnight their best sessions of 2022, after Powell said that the economy could handle the Covid-19 surge and tighter monetary policy.

Nifty's metal index, which dropped 1.9% in the previous session, was up 1.5%.

Top technology firms Wipro and Infosys were up roughly 0.5% each and Tata Consultancy Serviceswas flat. The companies will be reporting their third-quarter results later in the day.