Pharma, IT stocks lift Indian shares at the start of data-heavy week

BENGALURU, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on Monday, helped by pharma and information technology (IT) stocks, amid caution in a data-heavy week that includes the U.S. inflation print and the Reserve Bank of Indias monetary policy decision.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index settled 0.41% higher at 19,597.30, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.35% to 65,953.48.

Broader indexes mirrored their larger peers, with the more domestic-focused midcaps (.NIFMDCP100) and smallcaps (.NIFSMCP100) adding 0.51% and 0.22%, respectively.

“A lot of flows have been coming into the small and midcap funds rather than diversified equity funds, probably because investors are looking at returns in the recent past,\” said Rajeev Thakkar, chief investment officer and director at PPFAS Asset Management.

“With results season approaching an end, stock-specific action will continue with incremental moves in the benchmarks ahead of U.S. inflation data and RBI policy meeting on Thursday,\” said Narendra Solanki, head of fundamental research - investment services, at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.

Nine of the 13 major sectoral indexes logged gains, with the pharma index (.NIPHARM) jumping 1.56% to a record high.

Among individual stocks, Aurobindo Pharma (ARBN.NS) jumped 3.17% to a near two-year high after the U.S. health regulator completed a pre-approval inspection at its formulation manufacturing facility.

Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.NS) climbed 4.25% and was among the top Nifty gainers after the automaker reported that its quarterly profit nearly doubled.

On the flip side, Britannia (BRIT.NS) dropped 2.68%, the most on the Nifty, after the biscuits maker reported quarterly earnings below market estimates.

Paytm (PAYT.NS) surged as much as 6.79% on the fintech firms founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharmas plan to buy back a 10.3% stake in the company from a unit of Chinas Ant Financial.

The IT index (.NIFTYIT) advanced 1.13%, erasing losses post-earnings of top firms in July, with analysts saying the gains were driven by favourable valuations.