India Stocks Post Longest Winning Run in a Year; Metals Gain

April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks rose for a sixth day, posting its longest winning streak in almost a year. Commodity producers tracked gains in prices of metals.

Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., the country's biggest copper producer, added 3.1 percent. Tata Steel Ltd., the nation's largest maker of the alloy, jumped 7.4 percent.

"Commodity stocks are mirroring advances in prices of metals," said Shashank Khade, who helps manage $300 million of assets at Kotak Securities Ltd. in Mumbai.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, climbed 61.52, or 0.6 percent, to 10,803.86, its longest run of gains since the six days ended April 22, 2008. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange dropped less than 0.1 percent to 3,342.05. The BSE 200 Index advanced 0.7 percent to 1,270.45.

Hindalco Industries Ltd., the nation's biggest aluminum producer, rose 1.3 percent to 58.95 rupees. Tata Steel gained 7.4 percent to 261.10 rupees. Sterlite Industries added 3.1 percent to 395.85.

A measure of six metals rose 0.7 percent in London yesterday, its second day of gains. Copper for delivery in three months gained 2.3 percent, to $4,500 a metric ton at 10:37 a.m. on the LME while Aluminum for three-month delivery added 0.9 percent to $1,505 a ton.

Mahindra, Wipro

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Wipro Ltd. and Oil & Natural Gas Corp. fell after some investors judged the recent gains excessive.

Mahindra, India's largest maker of sport-utility vehicles, declined 2.6 percent to 436.40 rupees. The stock's 14-day relative strength index, which measures how rapidly prices rose or fell during the period, was above 70 since April 1. Some investors regard readings at 70 and above as a signal to sell.

Wipro, India's No. 3 software developer, dropped 2.8 percent to 274.45 rupees. Its relative strength was above 70 since April 2. Oil & Natural Gas slid 2.3 percent to 884.50 rupees. Its relative strength is above 70 since April 2.

Overseas funds bought a net 1.72 billion rupees ($34.3 million) of Indian stocks April 6, according to the nation's stock market regulator.

The following shares were among the most active on the exchange:

Essar Oil Ltd. (ESOIL IN) rose 2.3 percent to 132.55 rupees. The refiner owned by India's Essar Group has no proposal to delist its shares, it said in a statement to the National Stock Exchange yesterday. Talks are continuing for the purchase of a 50 percent stake in Kenya Petroleum Refinery Ltd., the company said.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (LT IN) rose 3.2 percent to 832.45 rupees. India's biggest engineering company won orders worth 6.05 billion rupees from water departments in three Indian states and the Steel Authority of India Ltd.

Usha Martin Ltd. (USM IN) jumped 4.1 percent to 32.15 rupees. The European Union yesterday scrapped a 23.8 percent tariff on steel ropes made by the Indian manufacturer. The EU lowered the duty to zero after concluding that Usha Martin stopped below-cost shipments of steel wire ropes to the 27- nation bloc from India. The verdict is the outcome of a 15-month probe by the European Commission, the bloc's trade authority in Brussels.

Wockhardt Ltd. (WPL IN) climbed 3.4 percent to 80.70 rupees. Indian lenders may buy Wockhardt's foreign currency convertible bonds from investors as part of a plan to restructure the drugmaker's debt, the Economic Times reported, citing an unidentified person.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pooja Thakur in Mumbai at 9032 or pthakur@bloomberg.net