Sensex, Nifty hit highs; L&T gains on buyback proposal

By Tanvi Mehta

(Reuters) - Indian share indexes rose to fresh highs on Monday buoyed by gains in Larsen & Toubro following a buyback proposal, while financials rose.

Sentiment picked up across Asia as investors awaited developments on proposed Sino-U.S. trade talks and the yuan rallied from alarming lows. Investors were also encouraged by news China and the U.S. will hold lower-level trade talks this month, offering hopes of resolving an escalating tariff war.

"Markets have been on a bit of a bull run. I don't see any clouds on the horizon right now... Today there is a bit of global overhang," said Jayant Manglik, president - retail distribution, Religare Broking.

The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.60 percent to 11,540.10 as of 0539 GMT, breaching the 11,500 level for the first time ever.

The benchmark BSE Sensex gained 0.77 percent to 38,239.78, after hitting a fresh high of 38,266.95 earlier in the session.

Construction major L&T jumped 6.4 percent in its biggest daily percentage gain in over two years. It said on Saturday that the board will consider a proposal for a share buyback later this week.

The Nifty infrastructure index rose as much as 2.4 percent, driven by L&T.

Market heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were among top contributors to the NSE index, with both trading over 1.5 percent higher.

Infosys Ltd shares fell as much as 4 percent after it accepted the resignation of chief financial officer M.D. Ranganath on Saturday.

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)