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Bloomberg
India stocks rose, led by Infosys Ltd after the software exporter said it will consider buying back shares and issuing a special dividend at its board meeting this week. Earnings season for companies began on Wednesday with IndusInd Bank Ltd.
The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.7 percent to 36,216.90 in Mumbai. The broader NSE Nifty 50 Index added 0.3 percent.
As India’s largest companies start reporting their results for the October-December quarter, Asia’s largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., will outline its performance on Thursday, followed by Infosys on Friday.
Equities in Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan climbed after major US indexes gained amid optimism on the potential for progress in trade talks between Washington and Beijing.
All but one of 19 sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. rose, led by a measure of information technology companies. Infosys and Reliance Industries gave the biggest boosts to the benchmark index. HT Media climbed as much as 18 percent, DB Corp surged 8 percent. “We expect private sector banks to report strong earnings along with capital goods and consumer companies,†said Chokkalingam G, managing director at Equinomics Research & Advisory.
“Cement, telecom and autos should see a muted performance.â€
“Financials are likely to be the stand-out performer of the earnings season, with multiple improvements backed by a pick-up in loan growth, stable to improving net interest margins, moderating slippages and treasury gains,†analysts led by Dhirendra Tiwari at Mumbai-based Antique Stock Broking wrote in a note.