Business | Markets
Indian shares climb 2.2% fuelled by energy sector
Indian shares rallied 2.2 per cent yesterday to their highest close in a week, boosted by gains in Reliance Industries and Reliance Communications, which won regulatory nod for its unit's share sale.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:38 May 16, 2008
Mumbai: Indian shares rallied 2.2 per cent yesterday to their highest close in a week, boosted by gains in Reliance Industries and Reliance Communications, which won regulatory nod for its unit's share sale.
A weak rupee, which has depreciated about two per cent this week, helped shares in export-driven software services companies that get more than half their revenue from the US.
Traders said expectations for tax breaks for exploration, as global oil prices remained stubbornly near record highs, lifted energy stocks.
Reliance Industries rose 3.7 per cent to Rs2,622.65, its highest close in five days, while state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp and smaller explorer Cairn India each gained 1.2 per cent.
"The rise was mostly due to news driven movements in specific index stocks, especially Reliance Industries and Reliance Communications," said R.K. Gupta managing director of Taurus Asset management.
"There was some short-covering also in some other leading stocks."
Reliance Communications climbed 5.3 per cent to an almost three-month closing high of Rs589 after sources said it had received the market regulator's nod for an IPO of 10 per cent in its telecoms tower unit.
The 30-share BSE index closed up 2.21 per cent, or 375.19 points, at 17,353.54, its highest close since May 6, with 24 components gaining.
The benchmark, which rose 10.5 per cent in April, is more than 14 per cent down in 2008 and 18.2 per cent off a record high of 21,206.77 hit on January 10.
In the broader market, 1,768 gainers beat 911 losers on volume of more than 366 million shares.
Software gains
Software bellwether Infosys Technologies rose 3.6 per cent to Rs1,891.30, top exporter Tata Consultancy Services firmed 1.6 per cent to Rs985.45 and smaller rival Wipro gained one per cent to Rs508.85.
Larsen & Toubro, India's leading engineering and construction firm, rose 4.7 per cent to Rs2,962.50 after it sold its ready-mix cement business to France's Lafarge at an enterprise value of $349.5 million.
The 50-share NSE index rose 2.07 per cent to 5,115.25.
Major stocks that moved included National Aluminium, which rose 3.9 per cent to Rs517.20, after its chairman said it had shortlisted two to three coal mines in Indonesia to secure supplies for its proposed 750 megawatt power plant.
Kirloskar Brothers gained 4.2 per cent to Rs250.30 after its joint venture Meil-Maytas KBL received contracts worth about Rs9.3 billion from Andhra Pradesh.
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