BENGALURU, March 18 Reuters Indian bluechip shares rebounded from a weak start on Monday, lifted by metal companies on strong China data and block deals in Tata Steel, while small and midcap stocks extended losses on valuation concerns.

The bluechip NSE Nifty 50 index advanced 0.15 to 22,055.70, while the BSE Sensex added 0.14 to 72,748.42, after shedding about 0.2 each earlier in the session.

Including the day39;s gains, the Nifty has lost about 2.1 from its alltime high on March 11.

We see signs of exhaustion in Indian markets, analysts at Phillip Capital said, adding that there could be either a price or time correction across most segments due to stretched valuations.

The broader, more domesticallyfocussed small and midcap stocks slipped 0.6 and 0.4, respectively.

They posted their worst week in 15 months on Friday, following a warning from the markets regulator of froth in the segments and stress test results, which indicated wide disparity in how long mutual funds would take to liquidate their portfolios in case of a market decline.

While profitbooking may persist in small and midcap stocks, largecap stocks are likely to remain resilient, said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.

Metal stocks climbed 2.5, led by a 5.65 jump in Tata Steel on multiple block deals executed at a premium.

Gains in the sector were further supported by strongerthanexpected factory output and retail sales data from China, the world39;s top producer…