L&T leads Sensex gain

by Agencies
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Mumbai: India's benchmark index increased for a second day, led by Larsen & Toubro, after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock. Software makers rose after United States services industry grew at the fastest pace in a year.

The S&P BSE Sensex index added 0.6 percent to 19,252.61 at the close, its highest level since February 25. Larsen & Toubro, India's largest engineering company, jumped 2.6 per cent after Goldman Sachs joined Nomura Holdings and Jefferies India this month in raising the stock's rating. Infosys, the second-biggest software maker, jumped to a 20-month high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied to a record on Tuesday, erasing losses from the financial crisis, as the US service industry expanded at the fastest pace in a year and investors bet global central banks will continue stimulus measures. India's largest software exporters get at least half their revenue from the US.

For Indian stocks "a lot is going to depend on how the global markets behave and how world economies respond to the problems they face," Sanjay Sinha, founder of Mumbai-based Citrus Advisors, told Bloomberg TV India yesterday.  Asian stocks increased, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index touching the highest level since August 2011. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stocks Average climbed 2.1 per cent to its highest close since September 2008, and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.6 per cent, bound for its highest close since February 20.

Larsen jumped 2.6 per cent to Rs1,432 to complete its biggest two-day gain since September 17. The stock was raised to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs. Infosys rose 1.7 per cent to Rs2,970, the highest close since July 2011. Smaller rival Wipro added 2 per cent to Rs441, the highest level since April. Tata Motors, the owner of Jaguar and Land Rover luxury brands, rallied 3 per cent to Rs309 in a fifth day of gains.

 The Sensex fell for five straight weeks through March 1, dropping to a three-month low on February 28, as third-quarter net incomes at companies from Tata Motors to State Bank of India missed estimates for the December quarter and the pace of the nation's economic expansion slowed.

A government report showed last week the economy grew 4.5 per cent from a year ago in the final three months of 2012, the weakest pace in almost four years.

Earnings at 43 per cent of Sensex companies missed estimates in the three months through December 31, compared to 40 per cent in the previous two quarters, data released here shows.

The Sensex is valued at 13.6 times projected 12-month profits, compared with 14.3 times on January 25, when it climbed to a two-year high, data shows.

Volumes on the gauge were 7.4 per cent more than the 30-day average. - Bloomberg News


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