INDIA STOCKS-India's stock benchmarks inch towards record high, led by Infosys

(Updates for markets open) Oct 23 (Reuters) – India's stock benchmarks opened higher on Thursday, led by Infosys after some of its large shareholders and their affiliated entities decided to opt out of a 180-billion-rupee share buyback. Optimism over a potential earnings rebound and trade agreement between India and the U.S. also lifted sentiment. The Nifty 50 rose 0.73% to 26,057.2, while the BSE Sensex added 0.86% to 85,154.15 as of 9:15 a.m. IST, both trading less than 1% below their all-time highs hit on September 2024. All 16 major sectors logged gains at the open. IT index rose 2%. Infosys gained about 3%. The broader small-caps traded flat while mid-caps gained 0.3%. Both the benchmark Nifty 50 and Sensex indexes have gained about 3% in the previous five sessions, aided by stable earnings from banks and heavyweights such as Reliance Industries . (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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