BENGALURU, June 26 Reuters India39;s benchmark equity indexes hit record highs on Wednesday, led by gains in heavyweight Reliance Industries and private lenders such as ICICI Bank.

The NSE Nifty 50 and SP BSE Sensex rose 0.6 each to hit record highs as of 1251 p.m. IST.

The oiltotelecom conglomerate Reliance, which has a weightage of about 10 in the Nifty 50 and had underperformed during a recent market rally, rose about 3, inching towards record high levels.

Reliance also powered the energy and oil gas indexes 1 higher. Its shares have risen only 0.3 since the end of March, underperforming the 7 rise in Nifty.

The Nifty 50 has hit record highs in seven out of the last 10 sessions.

Sectorrotation is underway, smart money is finding pockets with valuations comfort and earnings visibility, and that39;s powering markets higher, Viraj Gandhi, chief executive at SAMCO Mutual Fund said.

Pockets of largecaps like private banks and other top conglomerates that have not participated in the rally despite strong earnings outlook, could see money chasing them as their valuations have scope for upside.

Private lenders rose 0.6, extending their outperformance over the benchmark in June.

ICICI Bank, the thirdheaviest Nifty 50 stock, gained 1.3.

In contrast, metals were down 1.3, with 13 of the 15 constituents falling, on soft global prices amid a strong U.S. dollar.

Miner Vedanta was down 3 after its parent announced plans to sell 2.6 stake to a group of institutional…