Sensex index gains on release of US Fed report

Mumbai: India's stocks rose after a report showing factory output in the US jumped twice as much as forecast boosted investor confidence that global demand will be robust enough to drive corporate earnings growth.

Infosys Technologies, the second-largest software services exporter, led gains among peers.

The Federal Reserve report showed industrial production rose 1 per cent in July, double the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Software

Local software makers get more than half of their sales in the world's largest economy. GMR Infrastructure climbed to its highest in three months.

The builder of electricity generation plants is in advanced talks to sell a stake in power utility InterGen, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

"The business momentum for Indian software companies will get stronger as the global recovery strengthens," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, a fund manager at Ambit Capital in Mumbai who doesn't disclose his holdings.

"The increased M&A activity is a good entrepreneurial sign."

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, gained 208.27, or 1.2 per cent, to 18,257.12, its biggest gain since August 2. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 1.2 per cent to 5,479.15. The BSE 200 Index increased 1 per cent to 2,337.27. Infosys gained 2.1 per cent to 2,807.25 rupees, while rival Tata Consultancy Services advanced 2.5 per cent to 871.1 rupees.