New Delhi: Indian shares inched up in a narrow range on Tuesday, buoyed by gains in HDFC Life Insurance (HDFL.NS), while the stock exchange pushed a market holiday to Thursday from Wednesday. The blue-chip Nifty (.NSEI) index was up 0.22% at 18,731.6 as of 01:22 p.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.23% to 63,112.55. The Nifty midcap 100 (.NIFMDCP100) and the Nifty smallcap 100 (.NIFSMCP100) indexes rose 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.


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The shift in the Eid market holiday came after the government of Maharashtra state, where India's financial capital Mumbai is located, changed the date for the holiday late on Monday. The National Stock Exchange also said the expiry date for June futures and options contracts is now revised to June 28 from June 29 earlier.


"This is going to be largely an unexciting week for large-cap stocks, amid global cues, as valuations have run up and heavyweight banking and IT stocks are not in favour," said Aishvarya Dadheech, an equity fund manager.


"A lot of investors who were waiting on the sidelines will jump into smallcap stocks going forward."


The Nifty failed to breach an all-time high last week, while the Sensex eased after hitting a record high, weighed down by hawkish central bank commentary. On Monday, foreign institutional investors dumped a net 4.09 billion rupees ($50 million) worth of Indian equities, while domestic investors bought 2.5 billion rupees worth, NSE data showed.


Among stocks, HDFC Life Insurance (HDFL.NS) was the top gainer on the Nifty 50, rising as much as 4.2% before paring some gains. Aditya Birla Capital (ADTB.NS) climbed as much as 2.6% on plans to raise $213 million through a share sale. The Nifty Metal index (.NIFTYMET) rose 1%.