Sensex climbs to 3-week high

Indian stocks rose for a fourth day, with the benchmark gauge holding at a three-week high, as resources and energy companies rallied amid inflows from global investors.

Coal India, the world's biggest producer of the fuel, jumped the most in 10 months after Business Standard reported the government has eased limits on electronic sales at market prices. Reliance Industries climbed the most in a month. Tata Consultancy Services extended a two-day, 1.7 per cent rally.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.7 per cent to 28,707.75, the highest close since March 17. Foreigners purchased a net $41.4 million of local shares on Tuesday, taking this year's inflows to $6.3 billion, the most in Asia. Templeton Emerging Markets Group is "waiting for a correction" in India to boost its holdings of the nation's equities, Executive Chairman Mark Mobius said in Hong Kong Wednesday.

"The outside view of India is far stronger than the inside view," Abhay Laijawala, the head of research at Deutsche Equities India Pvt, said in an interview to Bloomberg TV India. India has "a very energetic government that is intent on reforms and investors are willing to wait" for the policy changes to filter through to company earnings, he said.

Laijawala, the most accurate Sensex forecaster last year in Bloomberg surveys, has maintained the 2015 target at 33,000 even as some of his peers have trimmed their estimates for the equity gauge amid concerns about a revival in earnings.