Indian Stocks Climb Before ECB Meeting; Software Shares Surge

Indian stocks advanced, tracking Asian and European peers, as investors waited for European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to give details of his plan to stem the region’s debt crisis.

The BSE India Sensitive Index (SENSEX), or Sensex, gained 0.5 percent to 17,399.88 at 2:22 p.m. in Mumbai. Infosys Ltd. (INFO), the second-largest software developer by value, advanced the most since October, leading a rally among peers. Tata Motors Ltd. (TTMT), the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, climbed the most in three weeks.

ECB President Mario Draghi will propose unlimited buying of government debt, while refraining from a public cap on yields, according to two central bank officials briefed on the plan before the meet today. The European Union, India’s biggest trading partner, took in 17 percent of the nation’s exports in the six months ended September 2011, government data show.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) advanced 0.3 percent in London. The measure has surged 14 percent from this year’s low on June 4 as Draghi pledged to do everything possible to preserve the euro. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.3 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose for the first time in six days.

The Sensex has risen 13 percent this year, helped by the highest foreign flows among 10 Asian markets excluding China tracked by Bloomberg. Overseas funds bought a net $54.5 million of stocks on Sept. 4, taking their investment this year to $12.3 billion, data from the market regulator show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shikhar Balwani in Mumbai at sbalwani@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net