Indian shares end higher on TCS buyback plans, banking gains

BENGALURU: Indian shares ended higher on Monday as Tata Consultancy Services' market capitalisation touched 10 trillion rupees ($136.46 billion) on share buyback plans and banking stocks gained after the government said it would waive interest levies on some loans under moratorium.

The NSE Nifty 50 index ended 0.76pc higher at 11,503.35 and the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.71pc to close at 38,973.70.

IT heavyweight TCS said it would consider a share buyback later in the week when it reports results, sending its shares up as much as 8.1pc to a record high of 2,728.1 rupees.

The Nifty IT index rose 3.47pc. Shares in TCS, Wipro Ltd and Infosys Ltd were among the top percentage gainers on the blue-chip Nifty 50.

The Indian government had told the country's top court it would waive the compounding interest component on loans up to 20 million rupees under a COVID-19 support plan, a legal filing showed.

India's Supreme court will have its next hearing on the interest waiver case on October 13.

The NSE Bank index ended 0.56pc higher, with shares of IndusInd Bank rising as much as 6.5pc and Canara Bank Ltd shares closing 0.6pc higher.