Sensex rises to one-week high on positive data

Mumbai :  India's benchmark stock index climbed to its highest in a week after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said taxes paid by companies increased, fuelling speculation earnings may rise.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, a construction company that also makes cement, gained the most in more than three months after August sales increased.

India's corporate tax collections grew 21 per cent in the April-July period from a year earlier, Mukherjee said yesterday.

Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd, the nation's biggest copper and zinc producer, advanced for a second day as metal prices rose.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, gained 32.44, or 0.2 per cent, to close at 18,238.31.

The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 0.3 per cent to 5,486.15. The BSE 200 Index increased 0.3 per cent to 2,342.89.

"All the data points show India's economy is gaining in strength," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, a fund manager at Ambit Capital Ltd in Mumbai who doesn't disclose the value of the assets he oversees.

"On the global side, the latest numbers from the US and China have somewhat reduced the volatility." Sanghavi said he's adding shares of retailers, education, media and consumer companies to his holdings, without naming any.

Jaiprakash advanced 4.3 per cent to Rs114.65, its biggest one day gain since May 26, after August sales climbed 51 per cent. Bajaj Auto Ltd, second-largest motorcycle maker, climbed 1.2 per cent to Rs2,783.35 after reporting record sales in August.