Wednesday's Asia ADR Recap

Updated from 5:38 p.m. EDT

Indian stocks advanced Wednesday as technology majors continued to show momentum a day after information technology leader Infosys Technologies INFY posted strong fourth-quarter earnings and provided a bullish full-year forecast.

Dealers in the Far East said that investor sentiment is improving, backed by the strong follow-through performance in technology shares. Market players are becoming more confident that a tradable bottom is now in place for Indian equity markets as volatility subsides and the markets return to focusing on fundamentals.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-stock Sensex Index finished up 90.5 points, or 0.6%, at 16,244.

Bangalore-based information technology company Wipro Limited WIT announced it will be partnering with Credit Suisse in the design and operation of a human resource service center in Wroclaw, Poland. Under the terms of the agreement, Wipro will provide support to more than 20,000 Credit Suisse employees located in Switzerland, according to dnaindia.com. American depositary shares of Wipro, which trade on the NYSE, finished up 2.9% at $11.93.

Indian technology ADRs continued to add to gains Wednesday as investors hoped for more bullish earnings reports out of the sector. Patni Computer Systems PTI led the group, trading up 6.2% to $13.54; Infosys added 3% to $40.88; and Cognizant Technology Solutions CTSH jumped 2.3% to $30.

Leading Indian communications provider Tata Communications TCL announced it has won two awards at the 2008 Nemertes Pilot House Awards, which was held during the FutureNet conference in Boston. Tata was recognized in two "emerging carrier" categories for best technology innovation: customer experience and MPLS services, according to a company press release Shares of Tata added 2.8% to $24.50.

Among the big gainers for Indian ADRs Wednesday were HDFC Bank HDB, which jumped 5% to $103; Icici Bank IBN, which added 4.2% to $41.91; and Sterlite Industries SLT, which traded up 3.7% to $21.

Be sure to check out the Far East Portfolio at Stockpickr.com every night to find out which stocks in India and China are making big moves and announcing major news.

China Recap

Chinese stocks slipped Wednesday on concerns over inflation at 11-year highs and slowing economic growth. Dealers in the region said official data on inflation and growth did little to calm the nerves of local market players.

Chinese government data showed that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 10.6% in the January-March period from a year earlier, vs. 11.2% in the last three months of 2007. China's GDP growth for all of 2007 was 11.9%. China's consumer price index fell to 8.3% in March from a year earlier, down marginally from 8.7% in February. The measure of producer prices spiked 8% in March, vs. 6.6% in February.

"A view that the Chinese government might raise interest rates to control inflation and fixed investments pulled down the Shanghai market and had a spillover impact on the Hong Kong market," said Eric Yuen, head of research at Dao Heng Securities.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 51.7 points, or 1.6%, to 3,348, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 23 points, or 0.1%, to 23,878.

Chinese alternative energy company Trina Solar TSL surged higher by 4.9% after Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Mehdi Hosseini upgraded the stock to market perform from underperform and raised his price target to $48 from $25, citing Trina's decision to cancel plans for a $1 billion polysilicon plant. Hosseini also bumped up his 2008 revenue numbers to $794 million from $716 million. American depositary shares of Tata finished up $2.08 at $44.55.

Leading Chinese online game developer Shanda Interactive SNDA announced it has granted an exclusive right to India-based Zapak Digital Entertainment to operate its online racing game Crazy Kart in India. The deal marks a milestone for Shanda, its first commercial launch into the Indian market. Shares of Shanda ripped higher by 7% to $28.37.