Indias stocks rose for a fourth day as the nations tax collection jumped, adding to evidence that the South Asian countrys economy is recovering.
ICICI Bank Ltd., the countrys second-biggest lender, climbed to a six-week high. Indias direct tax collections in the April-December period rose 8.5 percent to 2.5 trillion ($54 billion) rupees, the government said late yesterday. Tata Steel Ltd., the biggest producer of the alloy, reached a 17-month high after sales increased.
The evidence of an economic recovery is getting stronger, said Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd. in Kochi. Growth is likely to be more than what was estimated in the last year.
The Bombay Stock Exchanges Sensitive Index, or Sensex, gained 40.09, or 0.2 percent, to 17,726.33 at 9:25 a.m. in Mumbai. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 0.2 percent to 5,287.45. The BSE 200 Index increased 0.3 percent to 2,227.76.
Indias economy may grow as much as 8 percent in the year ending March 31, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Dec. 23. Gross domestic product expanded 7.9 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, the quickest pace in six quarters. The growth lagged behind only China among the worlds major economies.
ICICI gained 1.4 percent to 900.8 rupees. Indias corporate tax collections climbed 13.5 percent to 1.7 trillion rupees. DLF Ltd., the countrys biggest developer, advanced 0.8 percent to 372.45 rupees.
Tata Steel, Sterlite
Tata Steel added 0.9 percent to 654.65 rupees, the highest since Aug. 5, 2008, after it reported sales increased to 636,000 metric tons in December from 368,000 tons a year earlier.
Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., the No. 1 copper and zinc producer, added 1.1 percent to 927.5 rupees.
Indias manufacturing output rose the most in seven months in December as exports rebounded and government stimulus stoked domestic demand for consumer goods. HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics Purchasing Managers Index stood at 55.6 last month compared with 53 in November, according to a Jan. 4 report. That was the ninth monthly reading above 50, which indicates a gain in factory production.
Overseas funds bought a net 7.02 billion rupees of Indian equities on Jan. 4, the nations market regulator said yesterday. Purchases by global investors in 2009 matched the record $17.7 billion they invested in 2007.
That fueled an 81 percent advance in the Sensex in 2009, its biggest annual gain in 18 years.
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