Sensex rises more than 1 percent; auto, bank stocks gain

REUTERS - Indian shares rose for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, tracking broader Asian markets higher, as gains in auto and financial stocks and a slew of positive results including from property firm DLF Ltd lifted sentiment.

Asian shares bounced modestly on Tuesday as doubts the U.S. Federal Reserve would hike interest rates next month restrained the dollar, while investors continued to count on more policy stimulus elsewhere in the world.

The broader NSE Nifty, which hit a 2016 high of 8,728.35 earlier this month, was up 1.06 percent at 8,698.25 as of 0727 GMT.

"I think that the market is in a narrow trading range from 8,500-8,800. There will be fresh buys when the index comes down to 8,500 and profit-booking when the index hits the 8,800-point mark," said R.K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Asset Management.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading 1.01 percent higher at 28,183.25.

Property-developer DLF Ltd was up as much as 3.2 percent after saying net profit more than doubled in the June-quarter, while Indian Oil Corp rose as much as 1.62 percent after posting a 25 percent increase in profit for the June-quarter.

Auto makers also got a boost on hopes of a sales rebound, with Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto rising as much as 3.6 percent - 3.8 percent to hit record highs.

HDFC Bank rose as much as 1.85 percent, while ICICI Bank was up as much as 2.3 percent.

EClerx Services surged almost 10 percent to a record high after its board approved a proposal to buy back shares worth 2.34 billion rupees.

(Reporting by Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)