INDIA STOCKS-India's equity benchmarks end higher on hopes of US tariff relief

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

May 29 (Reuters) - India's benchmark indices rose on Thursday, led by information technology stocks after a U.S. trade court blocked most of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI rose 0.33% to 24,833.60, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN rose 0.39% to 81,633.02.

On Wednesday, a United States federal court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority with his proposed tariff plan. Although the White House appealed the decision, the ruling has raised hopes that Trump may scale back on steep tariffs.

MSCI Asia ex-Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.7%, while U.S. stock futures indicated a positive start on Wall Street. MKTS/GLOB

Back home, ten of the 13 major sectors advanced. Information technology companies .NIFTYIT, which get a substantial chunk of revenue from the U.S., rose 0.8% and were the biggest boost for benchmarks.

Metal stocks .NIFTYMET rose 1.2%, with Jindal Stainless JIST.NS and JSW Steel JSTL.NS rising 3.8% and 0.9%, respectively.

Jefferies initiated coverage of Jindal Stainless with a "buy" rating and upgraded JSW Steel to the same rating, citing strong volume growth prospects.

While the structural drivers for domestic markets remain intact, we are cautious on domestic equities as valuations seem full and markets are ignoring risks of likely slowing global growth, BofA Global Research said in a note.

The Nifty and Sensex have gained about 13% and 14%, respectively, from their April lows on the back of foreign flows and easing global trade tensions.

On the day, the broader smallcaps .NIFSMCP100 rose 0.6% to log their fifth straight day of gains while midcaps .NIFMDCP100 also gained 0.6%, posting gains in four of the five sessions.

"Mutual funds have been sitting on a huge cash pile and they seem to be deploying the money. This generally has a bigger impact on smallcap and midcaps compared to largecap stocks," said Arun Malhotra, fund manager at CapGrow Capital.