Core spending hope fuels market

Indian stocks rose, paring the benchmark index’s first weekly decline since early March, as Larsen & Toubro led construction companies higher on speculation the government would boost public-works spending.

Larsen, India’s biggest engineering company, gained 5.7 per cent. A media report said the government would set up a company to provide assistance to highway developers. Bharat Heavy Electricals, the largest power equipment maker, climbed 2.9 per cent.

“There is a lot of expectation that a boost in infrastructure spending will be announced in the Budget,” said Shashank Khade, who helps manage $300 million in assets at Kotak Securities in Mumbai.

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex rose 256.36 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 14,521.89. The gauge posted a 4.7 per cent drop this week, its first in 15 weeks.

The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange climbed 1.5 per cent to 4,313.60. The BSE 200 Index added 1.8 per cent to 1,761.66. Nifty futures for June delivery advanced 1.5 per cent to 4,326.

Infosys Technologies led software exporters higher after better-than-estimated economic reports in the US, their largest export market. Larsen climbed 5.7 per cent to Rs 1,497.05. Bharat Heavy Electricals gained 2.9 per cent to Rs 2,088.85.

Road finance
India planned to set up a road finance company that would provide debt to highway developers, a news report said today. Infosys, the nation’s No 2 software developer, rose 2.6 per cent to Rs 1,770.40. Tata Consultancy Services, the largest, added 0.9 per cent to Rs 379.80.

US reports showed jobless claims fell and that the manufacturing contraction in one region of the nation slowed. Indian software exporters derive more than half their revenue from the world’s biggest economy.