Nifty gains for third straight day; banking stock rise

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Nifty rose for a third straight session on Thursday as lenders such as Kotak Mahindra Bank extended gains on earnings, and on upbeat sentiment as the RBI exempted long-term bonds for the infrastructure sector from reserve requirements.

Kotak Mahindra Bank provisionally rose 3.8 percent while State Bank of India ended up 1 percent.

The Nifty gained 0.21 percent, marking its second straight highest close since July 7.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Sunil Nair)