India’s benchmark stock index rose for a third day. Software exporters gained as aretail sales rebounded in the US, their largest export market.
Infosys Technologies Ltd, the second-largest software services provider, rose 2 per cent while its larger rival Tata Consultancy Services gained 3.7 per cent. Oil & Natural Gas Corp, the largest state-owned oil explorer, fell 2.5 per cent as oil declined.
“There is a sharp increase in deal pipeline," Sandeep Muthangi, an analyst at IIFL Ltd said in a note to clients. “Initial indications point to healthy information technology budgets for the fiscal year ending March 2011.”
The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, rose 18.14, or 0.1 per cent, to 17,050.65. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange gained 0.1 per cent to 5,062.25. The BSE 200 Index advanced 0.1 per cent to 2,117.89.
US retail sales grew 1.4 per cent in October after slumping the most in nine months in September, a government report yesterday showed.