Sensex, Nifty end higher on TCS buyback plans, banking gains

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian shares ended higher on Monday as Tata Consultancy Services' market capitalisation touched 10 trillion rupees ($136.46 billion) on share buyback plans and banking stocks gained after the government said it would waive interest levies on some loans under moratorium.

The Nifty ended 0.76% higher at 11,503.35 and the Sensex gained 0.71% to close at 38,973.70.

IT heavyweight TCS said it would consider a share buyback later in the week when it reports results, sending its shares up as much as 8.1% to a record high of 2,728.1 rupees.

The Nifty IT index rose 3.47%. Shares in TCS, Wipro Ltd and Infosys Ltd were among the top percentage gainers on the blue-chip Nifty 50.

The Indian government had told the country's top court it would waive the compounding interest component on loans up to 20 million rupees under a COVID-19 support plan, a legal filing showed.

The Supreme court will have its next hearing on the interest waiver case on October 13.

The NSE Bank index ended 0.56% higher, with shares of IndusInd Bank rising as much as 6.5% and Canara Bank Ltd shares closing 0.6% higher.

($1 = 73.2800 rupees)

(Reporting by Philip George in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)