BENGALURU, Dec 27 Reuters Indian shares extended gains for the second straight session on Tuesday, aided by a jump in metal stocks, as risk appetite got a boost from China39;s plans to loosen COVID19 restrictions further.

The Nifty 50 index closed 0.65 higher at 18,132.30, and the SP BSE Sensex rose 0.60 to 60,927.43.

Metals led the sectoral gains, jumping over 4.2, its biggest daily gains in over seven months.

China39;s plans to ease COVID19 curbs has eased the nerves in the market a bit, Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Top metals39; consumer China announced on Monday it will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine starting from Jan. 8, moving further away from a strict zeroCOVID policy that had disrupted its economic activity.

The country39;s COVID19 management will also be downgraded to the less strict Category B from the stringent Category A, the National Health Commission said, bolstering hopes of a recovery in the world39;s secondlargest economy.

Domestic infrastructure spending, improved balance sheets of metal companies and hopes of demand revival in China have powered Indian metal stocks, said Anita Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets.

China39;s announcement also boosted stock markets elsewhere in Asia and Europe. The MSCI Asia exJapan index gained 0.59 and panEuropean STOXX 600 index was up 0.47.

Analysts said high intermittent volatility will likely be a feature of the Indian market…