BENGALURU: Indian shares inched closer to record highs on Tuesday, tracking Asian peers and buoyed by gains in HDFC group companies, while the stock exchange pushed a market holiday to Thursday from Wednesday.

The blue-chip Nifty index closed 0.68% higher at 18,817.4 - about 70 points shy of an all-time high, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.71% to 63,416.03.

The large cap indexes outpaced gains in the Nifty madcap 100 and the Nifty smallcap 100 indexes in the final hour of trading.

The Nifty had failed to breach an all-time high last week, while the Sensex eased after hitting a record high, weighed by hawkish central bank commentary.

Meanwhile, the shift in the Eid market holiday came after the government of Maharashtra state, where India’s financial capital Mumbai is located, changed the date for the holiday late on Monday.

The National Stock Exchange also said the expiry date for June futures and options contracts is now revised to June 28 from June 29 previously.

Among stocks, HDFC Life Insurance was the top gainer on the Nifty 50 on Tuesday, closing 5.9% higher on its best day since late-April.

The merger between index heavyweights HDFC Ltd and HDFC Bank will be effective on July 1, CNBC-TV18 reported on Tuesday, citing HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh. HDFC Ltd shares closed 1.5% higher, while HDFC Bank rose 1.4%.

Indian shares edge up, HDFC Life leads gains

LTIMindtree gained 3.1% after Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research said the stock continues to be a “high conviction replacement” for HDFC Ltd in Nifty 50 Index.

Aditya Birla Capital climbed 6.1% on plans to raise $213 million through a share sale.

Also supporting sentiment was a rise in Asian peers after news that China would support the stuttering growth in its economy.