India’s Sensex Index Climbs; Tata Motors, Wipro Lead Advance

Nov. 22 （Bloomberg） -- India’s stocks rose, driving the benchmark index to its biggest advance in more than two weeks, as some investors judged recent declines were overdone relative to the earnings outlook.

Tata Motors Ltd., the nation’s biggest truckmaker, climbed 3.3 percent. Housing Development Finance Corp., the biggest mortgage lender, rose 3.4 percent. The “correction” in the nation’s stocks offers a good entry point into banks, UBS AG said today. Wipro Ltd. led gains among software exporters.

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, advanced 372.15, or 1.9 percent, to 19,957.59, its steepest advance since Nov. 4, as of the 3:30 p.m. close in Mumbai. The measure retreated 6.8 percent in the previous two weeks to its lowest level in two months. The gauge’s 5-day relative strength index, measuring how rapidly prices rose or fell during the specified period, retreated to 20.7 on Nov. 19. Some investors see readings below 30 as a signal to buy.

“We are seeing a bounce-back as the short-term indicators are showing shares are in oversold territory,” said Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd. in Kochi. “The positive cues from other Asian markets” lifted investor sentiment today, he said.

The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 2 percent to 6,010. The BSE 200 Index increased 1.8 percent to 2,526.53.

Hindalco

Tata Motors gained 3.3 percent to 1,227.7 rupees. Housing Development advanced 3.4 percent to 719.1 rupees, its biggest advance since Oct. 13. ICICI Bank Ltd., the second-biggest lender, rose 2.7 percent to 1,180.05 rupees, its first gain in four days. HDFC Bank Ltd., the third-biggest, increased 3.3 percent to 2,379.9 rupees, its steepest climb since Aug. 18. The Sensex may reach 24,600 by March 2012, Suresh A. Mahadevan, an analyst at UBS, wrote in a note to investors.

Wipro surged 4.4 percent to 418.3 rupees, its steepest gain since May 10. Infosys Technologies Ltd., the second-largest software services provider, rallied 2.7 percent to 3,043.7 rupees, while larger rival Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. advanced 2.3 percent to 1,039.1 rupees.

Hindalco Industries Ltd., the biggest aluminum producer, climbed 1 percent to 214.8 rupees. Aluminum on the London Metal Exchange increased 1.5 percent. Tata Steel Ltd., the biggest producer of the alloy, surged 3.1 percent to 624.85 rupees.

Regional Rally

Asian stocks rose, sending the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to the highest since Nov. 11 after Ireland applied for a bailout to help fund itself and save its banks.

Stocks on the Sensex are valued at 18.9 times earnings after the gauge jumped 14 percent this year, the best performance and most expensive among the world’s 10 biggest stock markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Foreign fund inflows have almost doubled this year to an all-time high on the expectation consumer spending will boost corporate earnings.

Overseas investors sold a net 2.18 billion rupees （$48.2 million） of Indian shares on Nov. 18, reducing this year’s record flows to 1.29 trillion rupees, according to data on the website of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.