BENGALURU: Indian shares hovered near record highs on Thursday, boosted by banks and consumer goods companies, while auto and telecom stocks jumped after the federal government approved support packages for both the sectors.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.13% at 17,541.85 by 0440 GMT, having earlier hit a peak of 17,576.9. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was 0.15% higher at 58,813.62 after touching a record high of 58,908.18.
The S&P BSE Telecom index advanced 1.2%, with debt-laden Vodafone Idea soaring over 12% after the federal cabinet on Wednesday approved a relief package for the cash-strapped sector.
Private banks jumped as much as 1.3% to their highest in over six months.
IDFC First Bank, Yes Bank and IndusInd Bank, which have respective exposures to Vodafone Idea of 3%, 2.4%, and 1.7% of their loan books - according to Nomura - climbed between 2.5% and 8.2%.
Consumer goods stocks jumped 1.9% after three sessions of tepid and downward trade, with ITC Ltd advancing 7.5% to lead gains on the index.
"ITC seems to have caught the eye of investors given it has been fairly valued for a while, against its over-brought peers in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) basket," said Likhita Chepa, a senior research analyst at CapitalVia Global Research.
Auto stocks advanced 0.4%, with auto parts maker Bosch Ltd rising 6.4%. The government on Wednesday also approved a $3.5 billion incentive scheme for the automobile sector.
Bucking the broader trend, the metals subindex fell 0.5%, with Coal India losing over 1% to snap three straight sessions of gains.
Shares in broader Asia were dragged by Chinese stocks a day after the country reported a set of underwhelming economic data.
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