Indian shares inched up to near three-month highs on Tuesday, as gains in banks outweighed losses in stocks of automakers, with investors awaiting earnings from heavyweight Bajaj Finance due later in the day.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.18% at 18,341.40 by 9:18 am, while the S&P BSE Sensex edged up 0.21% to 61,439.85.

The Nifty Bank index advanced 0.5%, boosted by a 1% rise in top private lender HDFC Bank. Auto stocks dipped after seeing hefty gains in the previous session.

Nifty 50 component Bajaj Finance is due to report third-quarter results on Tuesday. The shadow lender will also consider raising funds by issuing debt. Its shares were up 1.1% in early trade.

Tech Mahindra gained as much as 1.4% after the IT services firm announced acquisitions including that of European tech firm Com Tec Co IT for 310 million euros ($353.12 million).