Indian shares rose for the fifth session in a row, gaining 0.7 percent on Monday to their highest close in two months, as investors picked up bargains following the sell-out seen so far this year, but dealers said the rally may soon fizzle out.
Engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro topped the gainers' list, closing 2.6 percent higher on upbeat broker comments. It is still down more than 17 percent in 2011. The 30-share benchmark BSE index firmed 0.68 percent or 127.50 points to 18,943.14, its highest close since January 25, with two-third of its components advancing. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.6 percent at 5,687.25 points.
The benchmark index is down 7.6 percent in 2011, weighed down by foreign funds' withdrawal of $1.7 billion from Indian equities in the period. It has underperformed MSCI's broader emerging markets equities index which has gained 2.4 percent year-to-date.The Indian benchmark has gained 6.3 percent in March, after shedding 2.8 percent in January and 10.6 percent last month.
Top mobile operator Bharti Airtel jumped 2.6 percent after J.P. Morgan upgraded the leading mobile operator to "overweight" from "neutral" and raised its target price to 410 rupees from 370 rupees. Lenders marched ahead on expectations the economic growth story in world's second-fastest growing major economy was here to stay, and on positive outlook surrounding demand for loans. Top lender State Bank of India climbed 1.4 percent, while rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank firmed 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent respectively.