Markets rise to a 3-week high

Indian stocks advanced for a seventh day, with the benchmark index posting its longest winning run in three weeks, as metalmakers and engineering companies climbed on optimism the government will speed up economic reforms.

Jindal Steel & Power jumped the most on record after winning a coal mine it had to surrender after a Supreme Court order last year. Sesa Sterlite, the largest copper producer, was the top performer on the S&P BSE Sensex. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp rallied to a record.

The Sensex climbed 0.5 per cent to 29,462.27 at the close, after rising and falling by as much as 0.7 per cent. The longest advance since January 27 has been fuelled by optimism that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will increase spending on infrastructure when he presents the ruling party's first full-year budget on February 28.

The rally has brought the gauge within 0.7 per cent of its all-time high reached on January 29.

"All eyes are on the government to see if it kickstarts the economy," Rakesh Arora, the head of research at Macquarie Capital Securities India Pvt in Mumbai, said in an interview to Bloomberg TV India on Thursday. "Expectations of a higher outlay on infrastructure are running high. That's why we're seeing a pre-budget rally."