Mumbai : India's stocks climbed for the first time in three days, led by raw material companies, after the biggest state-run steel-maker said increased demand may boost prices for the alloy next month.
Tata Steel, the biggest producer of the alloy, climbed for the first time in three days. Steel companies may raise prices next month on optimism consumption will increase during the festival season starting in September and as monsoon rains taper off, Steel Authority of India. Chairman C.S. Verma said on Wednesday. Mahindra & Mahindra, the largest maker of sport-utility vehicles, gained after saying the purchase of a stake in Ssangyong Motor Co. may be completed in four months.
"Growth is aggressive here," said Aneesh Srivastava, the Mumbai-based chief investment officer at IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co., who manages $325 million in assets. "Long-term investors would find India attractive. Indian companies would like to have global footprints as geographical diversification is necessary to lower risk."
The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, gained 46.71, or 0.3 per cent, to 18,226.35. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 0.3 per cent to 5,477.90. The BSE 200 Index increased 0.2 per cent to 2,334.82.
Tata Steel added 1 percent to Rs501.85. Jindal Steel & Power gained 1.4 per cent to Rs708.55.
Mahindra & Mahindra advanced 0.6 per cent to Rs619.1. The company plans to set up a new factory to make tractors in Southern India, said Pawan Goenka, president of the company's automotive division.
Maruti expansion
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the biggest carmaker, increased 0.6 per cent to Rs1,227.2. The company is considering a third plant at Manesar, near New Delhi, Press Trust of India reported, citing people it didn't identify. The company may spend 17 billion rupees on the new facility, the report said.
Booz & Co. expects the Indian automobile industry to continue growing despite rising interest rates and inflation, Jan Miecznikowski, head of the management consultant's global auto and industrial business, said in New Delhi yesterday.
