INDIA STOCKS-Indian share benchmarks rise, led by IT stocks, Reliance with Jio IPO in focus

By Reuters News

By Vivek Kumar M

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose in early trade on Wednesday, led by IT stocks on earnings optimism and oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries on the launch of its unit Jio Platforms' $3.2 billion IPO.

The benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI rose 0.57% to 23,019.2, and the Sensex .BSESN added 0.7% to 74,370.91 as of 9:57 a.m. IST.

Eleven of the 16 major sectors rose. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 were down 1% and 0.5%, respectively.

The IT index .NIFTYIT jumped 2.3%, led by an 11% surge in L&T Technology Services LTEH.NS after the company reported higher revenue and profit for the September quarter. Tata Consultancy Services TCS.NS, HCLTech HCLT.NS and Wipro WIPR.NS also jumped 1.9% to 3.6%, following their recent earnings releases.

Brokerage firm Jefferies said steady earnings and worsening global sentiment on AI capex could drive a re-rating for India's IT stocks, which have already largely priced in lower growth rates.

"With IT firms still delivering growth despite weak macro and AI-deflation, investors are more willing to revisit their terminal growth assumptions," the brokerage said in a note on Tuesday.

Reliance Industries RELI.NS rose 1.7% as Jio Platforms' record India IPO opened for subscription. Bidding will continue till October 23 and the stock is expected to begin trading from October 28.

Brent crude futures meanwhile rose 1.5% to more than $110 per barrel, with investors wary of Red Sea shipping disruptions and threats to oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. O/R

Higher oil prices are a challenge for India, which imports most of its requirements, as they add to the import bill, strain the country's fiscal deficit and hit corporate profits.

ICICI Bank ICBK.NS rose 1.5%, recovering from its 1.2% drop on Monday that was part of a broader decline in private bank shares, despite beating quarterly profit estimates on strong loan growth.

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