Indian stock index climbs above 18,000 points

India's main share index climbed above 18,000 points for the first time in more than two years on Wednesday and rose for the fourth straight session, fuelled by earnings optimism and mostly firm global equities. Energy giant Reliance Industries and automakers led the gainers. The 30-share BSE index closed 0.16 percent, or 28.65 points, higher at 17,970.02, its best close since February 19, 2008.
Nineteen of its components closed in the green. It rose to 18,047.86 in early deals, touching its highest level since February 27, 2008. "There is strong support coming in at lower levels," said Jigar Shah, vice-president of equity sales at brokerage Motilal Oswal. Automakers raced on expectations demand would remain strong, helped by rising incomes. Top vehicles maker Tata Motors gained 2.4 percent, while carmaker Maruti Suzuki rose 1.8 percent. Top utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra bucked the trend and shed 0.8 percent.
Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the Sensex, climbed 0.7 percent to 1,129 rupees. Foreign funds have pumped in around $4.9 billion in Indian equities so far in 2010, encouraging the recent steep rally in Indian stocks. But there are concerns that valuations may be stretched.
Financials edged lower as traders opted to lock gains after the recent rally. The sector index shed 0.4 percent after gaining nearly 3 percent over last three sessions. Leading lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank dropped 0.6 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp shed 0.7 percent.
Export-led outsourcers pulled back after the recent decline, as the Indian rupee weakened after hitting fresh 119-month highs in early trade Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro rose 0.5 and 0.1 percent, respectively, but bellwether Infosys Technologies dropped 0.2 percent. In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers in the ratio of 1.4:1 on volume of 530 million shares, higher than Tuesday's volume. The BSE midcap index and the BSE smallcap index have gained 4.9 percent and 7.5 percent so far in 2010, outperforming the main index that has risen around 2.9 percent. The 50-share NSE index closed 0.2 percent higher at 5,374.65 points.