HDFC Bank, India’s second-largest private bank, rose as much as 2.4
percent to an all-time high of 2,240 rupees during trade on Thursday,
before closing 1.95 percent higher.

It was a good day for financial stocks overall, which rose on the back of rising FII inflows who have been lured by 8.5 percent economic growth forecast this year.

IT stocks posted decent gains on Wednesday, pushing the sectoral index up nearly 2 percent as robust profits from U.S. retailing giants boosted confidence in the corporate outlook in the world’s largest economy.

Mphasis topped the BSE IT Index with a 3.8 percent gain, followed by HCL Tech which rose 3.1 percent. Bigger players like TCS and Infosys posted gains of 2.1 percent and 1.92 percent respectively.

The BSE Banking Index outperformed other indices on Tuesday, gaining nearly 1 pct in a flat Mumbai market, with stocks like Bank of Baroda and IDBI posting good gains.

Optimism over loan demand in a growing economy is helping banking stocks, but rising interest rates is a concern as this could push up costs for manufacturers and tighten their margins.

Sesa Goa, India’s largest iron ore exporter, saw its shares fall 8.9 percent on Monday to 322.55 rupees as it ended as the top loser in the BSE Metals Index.

India-focused miner Vedanta said on Monday it would hold 31-40 percent of Cairn India directly while Vedanta-controlled Sesa Goa would hold 20 percent.

The BSE Banking index ended down 0.6 percent on Friday as the top sectoral loser, with all but one stock in the index ending the day in red.

Top losers included Federal Bank, which slipped 2.3 percent and IDBI, which ended down 1.4 percent. Shares in SBI, India’s top lender, ended down 1 percent.

Thursday proved to be a good day for realty counters with many, including Unitech, posting decent gains.

The star performer in the index was Phoenix Mills, which gained 6.4 percent.

Unitech, one of India’s top listed real estate firms, rose 2.8 percent while rival DLF ended marginally in the green.

Technology shares rose on Wednesday as Indian firms cheered robust results and guidance from U.S. peer Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Cognizant on Tuesday reported a profit that topped market estimates for the sixth straight quarter, helped by a surge in discretionary projects, and also raised its 2010 revenue outlook.

Shares in Reliance Industries, India’s top listed firm, gained 1.1 percent on Tuesday, helping the benchmark index close marginally up.

The stock, which has the highest weight on the main index, closed at 1,026 rupees.

Shares in ICICI Bank rose as much as 4.2 percent in trade before closing 3.9 percent up after the lender posted a 17-percent rise in quarterly net profit on Saturday.

India’s top private lender also forecast a 15-percent credit growth in FY 2011 as loan demand from corporate and mortgage borrowers remain strong.

The BSE Auto Index fell 1.4 percent and was the top sectoral loser, with stocks like Hero Honda and Tata Motors slipping.

Hero Honda shed nearly 3 percent after it posted a 1.6-percent drop in quarterly net profit. JPMorgan cut its share price target for the stock.