Indian stocks traded lower Thursday failing to hold the 14,000 mark after breaking above the key psychological area earlier in the day. Traders said data earlier in the day that showed foreign funds were net sellers of $71.3 million on Wednesday proves that wealthy investors continue to sell into any strength. Foreigners have now sold around $6.8 billion of stock so far in 2008. Other market players shook of the news and said sell off was merely profit taking after an impressive run the last few days.

“With every rise foreign funds and high net-worth guys are trying to exit. So we should see the same range bound move in the coming days,” said Vinod Bansal, director at Ficuswealth.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex Index ended down 38 points, or 0.27%, to 13,926.24. Here's a look at how some India-based American depositary shares traded in the U.S. on Thursday.

Indian provider of offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) services WNS Holdings (WNS) announced it has inked a deal with London-based insurance company Aviva to acquire its BPO business for around $228 million. The company said the deal will give it $1 billion worth of outsourced work over a period of eight years. Under the terms of the deal, WNS will acquire Aviva Global Services, which is the insurer’s business process offshoring company in India and Sri Lanka.

WNS Holdings also issued a revised outlook for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2009. The company expects revenues to come in between the range of $425 million to $435 million, vs. previous guidance of $373 million to $378 million. WNS also said it expects net income to come in between $46 million to $49 million, vs. previous guidance of $44 million to $46 million. American depositary shares of WNS Holdings, which trade on the NYSE, surged 3.8% to $16.46.

Sterlite Industries (SLT) a Indian non-ferrous metals and mining company and a subsidiary of London-based Vedanta Resources, and unions representing the workers of ASARCO LLC, announced they have reached an agreement on the terms of the collective bargaining agreement that will go into effect if the proposed acquisition of ASARCO by Sterlite is approved by the bankruptcy court that is hearing ASARCO’s chapter 11 case. Shares of Sterlite jumped 5.5% to $15.10.

According to TD Securities analyst Jason Bilodeau, Laurentian Bank of Canada and Canadian Western Bank could be acquisition targets for Indian banking giant ICICI Bank (IBN). “There are a couple potential targets in Canada,” Bilodeau said in a note to clients today. However, Canadian Western CFO Tracey Ball told Bloomberg that he doesn’t think there’s interest. Shares of ICICI Bank traded up 2.7% to $28.73.

The only Indian ADRs to trade lower Thursday were Rediff.com (REDF), which dove 4.2% to $5.60; Wipro Limited (WIT), which fell 3.8% to $11.35; and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY), which lost 1.2% to $15.21.

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

Stocks in Hong Kong rose slightly Thursday as bargain hunters snapped up shares ahead of the Beijing Olympics set to kick off in August that they deemed to be oversold. Strong earnings guidance out of banking leader Industrial Bank also boosted shares.
The bank said it expects first-half net profits to jump 70% from a year ago.

“The u-turn staged by the local bourse surprised many. It came as China banks continued their strength and as worries over oil prices eased,” said Dickie Wong, an associate director at Friedmann Pacific Investment.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 45.10 points, or 1.5%, to 2,875.45 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed higher by 15.97 points, or 0.7%, to 21,821.78. Here's a look at how some China-based American depositary shares traded in the U.S. on Thursday.

Chinese alternative energy company JA Solar (JASO) announced that Kang Sun is resigning as chief operating officer, president and board member to pursue other interests. The company said Elmer Hsu will take over as the new chief operating officer, effective August 1. American depository shares of JA Solar, which trade on the Nasdaq, dropped 4% to $14.80.

Elsewhere in the Chinese alternative energy complex, shares of Yingli Green Energy (YGE), popped 5.4% to $15.03; LDK Solar (LDK), jumped 4.9% to $33.97; ReneSola (SOL), tacked on 3.4% to $14.05; Trina Solar (TSL), shot up 2.5% to $29.33; and Suntech Power Holdings (STP), ended up 1.6% to $33.77.

Shares of Cogo Group (COGO), a Chinese telecom equipment designer, plunged to a 52-week low after the company warned that second-quarter sales and profit margins will remain in-line with projections, but sees pressure on gross margins due to weak demand and intense competition in the mobile handset space. The company said margin pressure for its mobile handset business will likely continue in the third-quarter. Following the warning, Roth Capital Partners analyst Mark Tobin lowered his rating on Cogo shares to hold from buy. Shares of Cogo lost $3.57 to $4.28 on extremely heavy volume.

AsiaInfo Holdings (ASIA), a Chinese provider of telecom software solutions and IT security products and services, announced it has inked a deal with China Telecom> (CHA), to upgrade its wireless local area network system and IP billing system for Northern Telecom, the northern division of China Telecom. The company said this is the sixth consecutive year that they’ve won the contract. Shares of AsiaInfo moved up 5% to $11.72.

Aluminum Corporation (ACH) announced it has agreed to cut output by around 10% to help ease the power shortages that are hitting China. According to the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, Aluminum Corporation and 19 other metal producers signed an accord today to cut supply by 5% to 10%. The news helped to boost futures prices in Aluminum and send shares of Aluminum Corporation of China up 7.5% to $29.34.

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