IT rebound lifts Indian shares, Reliance weighs

BENGALURU, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on Tuesday, led by a rebound in information technology (IT) stocks, although gains were capped by Reliance Industries extending its losses since its annual general meeting.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index was up 0.22% at 19,348.30 at 9:59 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.21% to 65,134.73.

Ten of the 13 major sectoral indexes logged gains, with the high-weightage IT (.NIFTYIT) index rising 0.6%. The U.S. rate-sensitive index had lost 1.1% in the last two sessions on worries of higher-for-longer rates after Federal Reserve Chair Powell reiterated a commitment to tackle the rise in inflation.

On the flip side, Reliance (RELI.NS) fell 0.6%, among the most on the Nifty, after the conglomerate gave scant details of the much-anticipated public listings of its telecom and retail units at its 46th AGM on Monday, when the stock fell nearly 1%.

The more domestically focussed small-caps (.NIFSMCP100) and mid-caps (.NIFMDCP100) were up 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively, continuing to outperform the blue-chip benchmarks.

“New money, mainly retail money has come into the mid-cap and small-cap and has powered the ongoing rally, which has come after a two-year period of consolidation,\” said Samrat Dasgupta, chief executive at Esquire Capital Investment Advisors.

The small- and mid-cap indexes have gained over 23% in 2023 so far, compared to a 6.8% rise in Nifty 50.

Realty stocks (.NIFTYREAL) added 1.5%, led by a 3.3% rise in Indiabulls Real Estate (INRL.NS) after the real estate developer appointed a new chief operating officer.

Among individual stocks, Gokaldas Exports (GOKL.NS) surged over 13% to a record high after saying it would buy Dubai-based apparel maker Atraco Group for $55 million.

SJVN (SJVN.NS) also jumped nearly 5% to a record high on securing an order for a solar power project.