By Ami Shah MUMBAI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Indian shares eked out a tiny gain on Thursday after profit taking in stocks such as leading vehicle maker Tata Motors and ICICI Bank erased most of the rise in late trade. Firm metal prices boosted copper producer Sterlite Industries and steel maker Tata Steel 1.4 percent each and aluminium maker Hindalco rose 2.4 percent. "Metals stocks have been on the rise, in line with firm global commodity prices which are dollar-linked," said Nitin Rakesh, CEO of Motilal Oswal's asset management business. The 30-share BSE index, or Sensex, closed up 0.1 percent, or 15.77 points, at 17,185.68, after rising as much as 1.1 percent during trade. Eighteen of its components advanced. "Investors are booking profits in select counters which had run up a lot recently," said Kunal Sukhani, manager of institutional equities at Asian Markets Securities. The benchmark index has rallied 78 percent in 2009 on the back of foreign portfolio inflows of almost $16 billion, and analysts expect more gains in the coming year. "Our March 2011 Sensex target is 20,000," Suresh A Mahadevan and Philip Wyatt, analysts at UBS Securities said in a note dated Wednesday. The market will continue to gain in 2010 as strong economic and earnings growth outlook are likely to attract institutional inflows, they wrote. Tata Motors fell 3.3 percent to 705.40 rupees on profit taking. The stock is still up 12.1 percent this week on 65 percent jump in November vehicle sales and improving outlook. Top private lender ICICI Bank dropped 1 percent to 883.90 rupees after it climbed 4.9 percent over three sessions. In the broader market, gainers outpaced losers in the ratio of 1.5:1 on moderate volume of 466 million shares. The 50-share NSE index closed 0.2 percent higher at 5,131.70. "People are cautious as we move towards 5,200, which is a key resistance level," Sukhani said. Reliance Communications, India's second-largest mobile operator, climbed 2.5 percent and leader Bharti Airtel gained 0.7 percent after a recent sharp fall caused by call tariff war. The stocks are still down 41.8 percent and 26.7 percent since the end of September. STOCKS THAT MOVED OUTSOURCER MAHINDRA SATYAM ROSE 5 PERCENT TO 95.85 rupees after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral and set a June 2010 target price of 140 rupees. RURAL ELECTRIFICATION CORP CLOSED 2.4 PERCENT higher at 263.50 rupees, after a company official said the state-run power finance firm's follow-on share offer should hit the market between Jan. 21-27 and raise about 40 billion rupees. EICHER MOTORS RALLIED 5.1 PERCENT TO 625 RUPEES, after its founders brought out Mitsubishi Motors Corp's 3.18 percent stake in the company. MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME UNITECH ON 13.1 MILLION SHARES MAHINDRA SATYAM ON 12.9 MILLION SHARES SPICEJET ON 12.4 MILLION SHARES FACTORS TO WATCH For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net India rupee report India bond report Euro rises before ECB, dollar, yen slip on risk Oil rises above $77, bulging stocks weigh World stocks race to 14-mth high after BofA U.S. stock index futures signal gains; BoA eyed For closing rates of Indian ADRs (Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan) ((ami.shah@thomsonreuters.com; +91 22 6636 9246; Reuters Messaging: ami.shah.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia........ Japan....... S.Korea... S.E. Asia....... Hong Kong... Taiwan.... Australia/NZ.... India....... China..... OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street .... Gold ....... Currency.. Eurostocks..... Oil ........ JP bonds... ADR Report ..... LME metals. US bonds.. Stocks News US.. Stocks News Europe DIARIES & DATA: Indian Data Watch Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Indian diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: U.S. company news European company news Forex news Global Economy news Technology news Telecoms news Media news Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt Indian rupee LME price overview Keywords: INDIA STOCKS/ (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

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