* Firm world mkts, hopes stimulus will stay longer help * Metals rally as base metal prices rise (Updates to close) By Ami Shah MUMBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose 2.1 percent on Wednesday, climbing the most in six weeks after dropping to a three-month closing low in the previous session, with sentiment lifted by firm world markets and hopes stimulus measures will stay in place for some time. Financials stocks led the gainers as investors placed bets on their long-term outlook in a growing economy. ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) rose 2.6 percent while bigger rival State Bank of India (SBI.BO) climbed 1 percent. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.BO) gained 3.8 percent. India's chief statistician, Pronab Sen, said the government may defer taking a call on stimulus measures and the finance minister could take appropriate steps later in the next fiscal year. [ID:nDEL002626] The 30-share BSE Index rose 2.06 percent, or 332.61 points, to 16,496.05, with only one component closing in the red. "Firm global markets helped the gains today," said R.K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Mutual Fund. "The sentiment improved further on hopes the government may defer exiting the stimulus package." World stocks were firm as better-than-expected U.S. company earnings and strong data raised expectations the economy would keep momentum into the first quarter. At 1016 GMT, the MSCI's measure of Asian markets other than Japan .MSCIAPJ was up 2.04 percent while pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.3 percent. Larsen & Toubro (LART.BO) climbed 3.8 percent to 1,449.85 rupees, after the engineering and construction firm said it had received new orders worth 11 billion rupees in the buildings and factories segment. [ID:nBMA006927] Non-ferrous metals producer Sterlite Industries (STRL.BO) rallied nearly 6 percent to 780.30 rupees and aluminium maker Hindalco (HALC.BO) firmed 3.3 percent to 156.10 rupees, buoyed by a rise in base metal prices. Shanghai copper rose 2.8 percent and London metal extended gains, as the latest batch of positive U.S. data, this time existing home sales, helped investor sentiment. [ID:nSGE612058] Tata Steel (TISC.BO), the world's eighth-largest steel maker by output, climbed 4.9 percent to 600.40 rupees. UBS Securities raised Sterlite Industries to "buy" from "neutral" and raised the target price to 1,000 rupees from 675 earlier, citing higher metal prices and commissioning of ramp-up in 2010/11. It also raised the price target for Hindalco to 200 rupees from 175 earlier, a note obtained by Reuters showed. In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers in a ratio of 1.7:1, on volume of 393 million shares, lower than last week's daily average of 411 million shares. The 50-share NSE index gained 2.1 percent to 4,931.85. STOCKS THAT MOVED * Infinite Computer Solutions (India) Ltd (INFI.BO) rose 16.1 percent on debut to 191.60 rupees from its issue price of 165 rupees. [ID:nBMB009787] * Steel producer JSW Steel (JSTL.BO) climbed 8.4 percent to 1,055.65 rupees, helped by firm metal prices and as its January crude steel output rose 66 percent from a year earlier. [ID:nBMB009791] MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME * Himachal Futuristic (HMFC.BO) on 16.4 million shares * Infinite Computer on 16.4 million shares * Fame India (FAME.BO) on 16.2 million shares FACTORS TO WATCH * For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net * Indian rupee report [INR/] * Indian bond report [IN/] * Risk appetite aids euro; caution before Greek verdict[FRX/] * Oil rises towards $78 ahead of U.S. inventory data [O/R] * World stocks, oil rise after US data, earnings [MKTS/GLOB] * Wall St futures point to higher open; focus on data [.N] * For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR (Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

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