BENGALURU: Indian shares advanced on Tuesday, led by banks as top lender HDFC Bank reported results for the first time after the merger with its parent, while a rebound in global stocks and moderation in oil prices aided sentiment.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.50% at 19,830.60 as of 10:03 a.m. IST, and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.51% to 66,498.50.

Financial indexes such as banks, private banks, public sector banks and financials rose between 0.6% and 1%, after HDFC Bank reported a net profit in the September quarter in its first results as a single company since the merger with Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC).

“The pressure on the net interest margins for HDFC Bank was expected and it appears that the NIM may have bottomed out,” said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of research at SMC Global Securities.

The private lender, which has the highest weightage in Nifty 50, was among the top gainers in the session, rising as much as 1.71%.

Non-bank lender Bajaj Finance, which is due to report September quarter results later in the day, gained 1.5%.

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Jain added that investors should use any slide in markets to “hike allocations in banking, property, utilities and industries sectors, as the domestic focus and growth visibility make these segments attractive”.

Small-caps extended their outperformance over the blue-chips, rising 1%. Mid-caps mirrored the benchmarks.

Wall Street equities closed higher overnight as investors embarked upon the first full week of earnings. Asian markets edged higher.

Brent crude futures steadied below $90 per barrel in Asia hours on hopes that the US would ease sanctions on Venezuela.

Lower oil prices are a positive for net importers of the commodity, like India.

Newly listed Jio Financial Services gained over 3% after second-quarter profit doubled sequentially and tyre maker CEAT surged 11% on September-quarter profit beat.