Nifty rises; banks, MSCI additions rally

REUTERS - The Nifty rose to its highest level in 2-1/2 years on Thursday, as lenders continued to rally on bets the RBI would cut interest rates, while four additions to the MSCI India index, including Wockhardt, also rallied.

ICICI Bank Ltd provisionally rose 1.36 percent, while HDFC Bank Ltd gained 1.1 percent.

The Sensex rose 0.17 percent, while the Nifty provisionally ended up 0.38 percent, its highest since November 2010.

Four stocks added by index compiler MSCI to its India index also gained, including Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd , which closed up 10 percent, and Wockhardt Ltd , which gained 0.92 percent. (Reporting by Himank Sharma; Editing by Rafael Nam)