BENGALURU, May 2 Reuters Indian shares advanced on Tuesday, aided by broader gains across sectors on Marchquarter earnings and foreign fund inflows, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve39;s interest rate decision on Wednesday.

The benchmark Nifty 50 closed 0.46 higher at 18,147.65, while the SP BSE Sensex gained 0.40 at 61,354.71.

The gains were led by information technology, metals and oil and gas stocks, which rose over 1 each.

he Nifty extended gains to the sixth consecutive session, while the Sensex closed at its highest level since December 20, 2022. The rise in benchmarks coincided with the return of foreign fund flows into Indian equities.

Foreign institutional investors FIIs extended their buying streak for the third session on Friday, adding equities worth 33.04 billion rupees 403.6 million.

The strong FII buying will help the market sustain above support levels, said Deven Mehata, equity research analyst at Choice Broking and added every dip is a buying opportunity for longterm investors.

Expect this momentum in domestic equities to continue and Nifty to head towards 18,200 levels, said Siddhartha Khemkha, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Global equities were subdued ahead of the expected 25 basispoint rate hike by U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

Among individual stocks, Mahindra Mahindra Financial Services Ltd jumped nearly 3 after reporting a 13.8 rise in consolidated profit in the March quarter.

Oil and Natural Gas…