Indian shares edged up on Wednesday as auto and metal companies gained with investors buying the dip, while Omicron coronavirus variant cases across the globe continued to surge keeping sentiment in check.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.62% to 16,875 by 9:29 am and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.86% at 56,702.92. Both the indexes are down nearly 10% from a lifetime high hit in October.

The Nifty auto index was up 1.6%, while the metals index gained 1%.

Meanwhile, India told state governments on Tuesday to be proactive and on the lookout for surges of the Omicron coronavirus variant after cases nearly doubled within a week across a dozen states.