By Ami Shah

MUMBAI, March 11 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose for the

second session and gained 0.4 percent on Thursday on late buying

in banks and software companies after global markets erased some

of their losses.

Bank shares climbed as investors placed bets on their

long-term prospects in an advancing economy while export-oriented

software companies gained on hopes of improving order flow.

The 30-share BSE Index closed 0.41 percent or 69.63

points higher at 17,167.96, after fluctuating through the day.

Half of its components closed in the green.

'Market will consolidate for a while, after the run up we saw

post the budget,' said V.K. Sharma, head of private broking and

wealth management at HDFC Securities.

'It is waiting for a trigger and IIP (index of industrial

production) data should provide more cues,' added Sharma,

pointing to industrial output data for January which is due by

mid-day on Friday.

Industrial output is forecast to have risen 16.65 percent in

January from a year earlier, a Reuters poll showed

According to the latest data, foreigners poured more than $2

billion into Indian equities in seven sessions to March 9, with

fresh equity issuance taking a share.

Top iron ore miner NMDC's share sale worth up to

$2.6 billion opened for subscription on Wednesday, while

animation and gaming firm DQ Entertainment's 1.28 billion rupee

($28 million) initial public offering which concluded on the same

day was subscribed more than 84 times.

No.2 software services firm Infosys Technologies

rose 0.9 percent while rivals Tata Consultancy Services

and Wipro gained 1.3 percent and 1.7 percent

respectively.

'There is more and more evidence that demand for IT services

is growing and the larger companies clearly stand to gain,' said

Nitin Rakesh, CEO of Motilal Oswal's asset management business.

Infosys is seeing a rise in outsourcing deal flow due to a

recovery in the global economy, its chief executive officer Kris

Gopalakrishnan said on Wednesday.

Top lender State Bank of India rose 0.5 percent

while private-sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained 1.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Top consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever, a unit

of Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever, declined 4.2 percent to

228.80 rupees.

'The pricing war in the detergent segment is hurting the

stock,' said Anand Shah, research analyst with Angel Stock

Broking.

Energy major Reliance Industries, which has the

highest weight on the Sensex, climbed 0.8 percent to 1,016.55

rupees.

Tata Steel, the world's eighth largest steel maker

by output, also shed 0.4 percent on concerns that rising iron

prices may crimp its margins.

In the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers in a

ratio of 1.6:1 in a volume of 352 million shares, lower than that

on Wednesday.

The MSCI's measure of Asian markets outside Japan

was down 0.24 percent by 1128 GMT, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 0.04 percent.

The 50-share NSE index gained 0.3 percent to

5,133.40.

STOCKS THAT MOVED

* Infrastructure and construction firm Man Infraconstruction was listed at 338.60 rupees a share on the Bombay Stock

Exchange, up 34.36 percent compared with its issue price of 252

rupees.

The stock closed at 348.25 rupees.

* Fortis Healthcare rose 4.9 percent to close at

178.35 rupees after the hospital chain agreed to buy 23.9 percent

stake in Singapore's healthcare provider Parkway Holdings for about $685 million..

MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME

* Texmo Pipes on 20.4 million shares

* Man Infraconstruction on 16.5 million shares

* Shree Ashtavinayak on 6.2 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH

* For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net

* India rupee report

* India bond report

* Yen edges up vs dlr, euro after strong China data

* Oil slips below $82 on China inflation spike

* China inflation spike weakens equities

* Futures point to weak Wall St; Devon Energy seen up

* For closing rates of Indian ADRs

(Editing by Tony Munroe)

((ami.shah@thomsonreuters.com; +91 22 6636 9246; Reuters

Messaging: ami.shah.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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