INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares edge higher on easing oil prices, bond yields; IT caps gains

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Indian shares edged higher on Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street and across Asia, as lower oil prices and Treasury yields offered support ahead of potential U.S.-Iran talks at the UN General Assembly this week.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI rose 0.18% to 23,456.25, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN gained 0.15% to 74,968.68 as of 9:51 a.m. IST.

Twelve of 16 major sectors rose. Small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 added about 0.3% each.

Brent crude futures hovered around $101 per barrel, after dropping for four consecutive sessions until Monday, while the benchmark US 10-year yield fell. O/R

The Nasdaq notched a record high overnight, and Asian stocks mirrored gains. MKTS/GLOB

Iran and the US exchanged threats on Sunday, though President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the UN General Assembly.

"For India, the cooling off in crude prices is a welcome relief as softer crude bill eases pressure on the import bill, rupee and imported inflation and offers some breathing room on the current account," said Rajeev Sharan, head of research at Brickwork Ratings.

However, Sharan said it was a relief rather than a reversal, as Brent was still above $100.

The IT index .NIFTYIT fell 0.9% with CLSA and Goldman Sachs flagging subdued demand weighing on medium-term earnings outlook.

"IT companies' management demand commentary going into the silent period for September quarter results remains cautious at best," said CLSA, adding that "weak macro fundamentals due to geopolitics, higher rates and inflation pose downside risk to earnings."

Among stocks, Coal India COAL.NS gained 2.3% after Morgan Stanley upgraded to "overweight" from "equal-weight" on improving earnings outlook.

Pace Digitek PACD.NS jumped 10.1% on winning an order worth 4.88 billion rupees from NTPC's unit.