Indian stocks climbed following gains in most equity markets across Asia, amid optimism that global economic growth is on the mend.
The S&P BSE Sensex recovered from a two-week low, rising 0.2 percent to 29,926, while the NSE Nifty rose 0.3 percent to 9,314.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls. About five stocks advanced to every three stocks that declined. Real estate stocks led from the front, followed by software exporters.
Ambuja Cement Ltd. was the top performer in the benchmark, followed by ACC Ltd. after the two said they are considering a long-anticipatesd merger, which would create India's second largest cement company by market capitalisation.
“Cement is in a long-term structural bull market,” said Lancelot D'Cunha, an independent market analyst. He said investors can look to buy shares of some of smaller cement companies, like Prism Cement, which could be buyout candidates.
Telecom shares gained ahead of Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Idea Cellular Ltd. results. Analysts expect revenues of telecom companies may not fall sharply as widely anticipated after the launch of Reliance Jio.
The rupee gained 0.1 percent against the dollar, snapping a two-day losing streak.
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