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Nifty, Sensex edge higher; bank, telecom stocks gain

By Sethuraman N R

Indian shares inched higher on Tuesday, driven by banking and telecom stocks after two major mobile network service providers said they planned to raise tariffs from next month.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.2% to 11,906.25, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.4% to 40,455.36.

"Markets are in a consolidation phase after the recent rally," said A.K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital.

The Nifty main index has risen over 12% since hitting a six-month low mid-August, supported by government measures to boost investor confidence as Asia's third-largest economy faces slowdown.

Tariff hike announcements by telecom companies will benefit banks as they have a huge exposure to the sector, Prabhakar said.

On Monday, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea said they would increase mobile tariffs from December, after posting record quarterly losses.

Airtel shares rose 4.8% and were among the top gainers in the Nifty index, while Vodafone shares jumped 18%.

Banking and IT stocks led gains, rising 0.2% to 0.4%.

The Nifty has an immediate support in the range of 11,700-11,800, said Amit Shah, technical research analyst with Indiabulls Ventures, in a note.

The index is poised to hit an all-time high above the 12,100 zone, Shah added.

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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