Indian (SENSEX) stock-index futures rose on improving earnings prospects after companies including Wipro Ltd. (WPRO) reported higher profits.

SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for January delivery added 0.3 percent to 6,335.0 at 9:54 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. climbed 0.7 percent to 6,303.95 yesterday. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.7 percent to 21,205.05. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares lost 0.8 percent on Jan. 17. U.S. markets were closed for a holiday yesterday.

The Sensex advanced yesterday as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. rebounded from its biggest loss in more than two years and Wipro climbed after reporting higher earnings. All six Sensex companies that have reported earnings so far have beaten or matched analyst estimates.

“There is indecision in the market at this point and any concrete trigger will decide which side the market will break this range,” Nidhi Saraswat, senior research analyst at Bonanza Portfolio Ltd., wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “However, as the overall trend is positive, we can expect a positive breakout this time. Global cues and third-quarter results shall also lead to stock specific movement.”

Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (HZ), India’s biggest zinc producer, may move after the cabinet approved a plan to sell the government’s $ 2.7 billion stake in the company. The government owns a 29.54 percent stake in the $ 9.1 billion company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Budget Deficit

The money from the sale will help Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meet a goal of paring the budget deficit to a six-year low of 4.8 percent.

Global investors bought a net $ 24.5 million of local shares on Jan. 17, data from the regulator show. They invested $ 20 billion last year, the most in Asia after Japan, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Net purchases in 2012 were $ 24.6 billion, the data show.

The Sensex has risen 0.2 percent this year. It climbed 9 percent in 2013, capping the best annual gain among the four-largest emerging markets, and trades at 13.3 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s 10.3 times.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai at rshaaw@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net