By Abinaya Vijayaraghavan
(Reuters) - Indian stock indexes hit record highs on Tuesday, buoyed by energy and IT shares and positive cues from global markets after the United States and Mexico agreed to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software services exporters, saw their shares rise to all-time highs with gains of up to 1.62 percent 0.69 percent respectively.
The benchmark BSE index climbed 0.3 percent higher to 38,808.66, while the broader NSE index was up 0.31 percent at 11,728.30, with both reaching record intra-day levels for the tenth time this month.
The NSE index has had a record-setting run in the last two months, while the BSE has been Asia's top performing index this year. The new highs come as companies in India, the fastest growing major economy in the world, reported a 11.6 percent annual increase in profits for the June 2018 quarter, the strongest growth in five quarters.
"Majority of the macro factors are in favour, the results that came out this quarter were in line with expectations. The likes of IT and Pharma are doing well now, thanks to the dollar," said Sudhakar Pattabiraman, Head of Research Operations, William O'Neil India.
The dollar remained near one-month lows against the euro on Tuesday, but gained against the yen after the U.S.-Mexico deal boosted appetite for riskier assets.
Oil-to-telecoms giant Reliance Industries Ltd rose as much as 1.05 percent to a life high of 1,305 rupees, while Coal India Ltd's shares rose as much as 2.25 percent to its highest in nearly three months.
"The trade war is easing out, that should be helping the energy and IT stocks. It is further expected that dollar might get even better, that is going to help the IT companies for sure," Pattabiraman added.
Asian shares also advanced on Tuesday, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbing 0.6 percent for a second straight day of gains.
Indian firm J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd gained as much as 12.03 percent to its highest since June 20. Brokerage Citi Research initiated coverage on the stock with a "buy" rating.
(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)
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