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BSE Sensex rises over 1 pct, nears record high; Idea Cellular, other telecom stocks gain

BSE Sensex today surged nearly 311 points to reclaim the 26,000-mark.

Extending its upmove for the sixth straight session, the benchmark BSE Sensex today surged nearly 311 points to reclaim the 26,000-mark at close as overseas investors bought bluechips on encouraging corporate earnings.

This is the second time in its history that the BSE Sensex has ended above 26,000 mark as it concluded at 26,025.80, a rise of 310.63 points, or 1.21 per cent. It had closed above this level on July 7, 2014 (26,100.08).

The barometer has gained over 1,018 points in six sessions, helping it rise over 2.3 per cent so far in July.

Bharti Airtel, which nearly 5 per cent, was the best gainer in the 30-share pack today. It was followed by RIL, HDFC and TCS that have recently posted better-than-expected earnings.

On similar lines, the 50-share NSE index Nifty rose 83.65 points, or 1.09 per cent, to settle the session at 7,767.85, after scaling an intra-day peak of 7,773.85.

Brokers said the investor sentiment was firm amid persistent inflow of foreign funds. Improving macroeconomic indicators, monsoon progress and positive global cues have also supported the buoyancy in domestic markets, they said.

Telecom stocks flared up after Idea Cellular’s results yesterday and after regulator TRAI yesterday recommended allowing sharing of all categories of airwaves held by operations including spectrum allocated at old price.

Among major earnings today, Kansali Nerolac and Thermax reported results.

However, most midcap and smallcap stocks ended flat or down on a wave of profit-booking, traders said.

Sectorwise, the BSE Teck sector index was the star performer by rising 2.02 per cent, followed by IT index 1.78 per cent, Oil and Gas index 1.74 per cent, Consumer Durables 1.16 per cent, among others.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 161.17 crore yesterday as per provisional data.

Raghu Kumar, Cofounder RKSV: Sensex breached the critical resistance point of 26,000 for the second time this month as investors focused mostly on bluechip stocks making up the Sensex and Nifty. While mid-cap and small-cap stocks stayed flat, some of the highest capitalized stocks in the market- including Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, and Lupin hit all time highs. The bullishness seems to be coming from high FII inflows; since 14th July, FII’s have pumped in more than 2700 Cr, and the Sensex has gone up 4% during these past 8 days alone. This was expected as FII’s are looking at India as a safe haven to invest in, with a pro-business government in an emerging market proving to be a better bet than the plagued European economy and the stagnant American markets, with its staple benchmark Index (the Dow Jones Industrial Average) having appreciated a meager 3% year to date. The Sensex, on the other hand, has appreciated a staggering 23% during the same time period.

Indian shares near record high; telecom stocks gain

(Reuters) Indian shares rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday, approaching their record highs hit earlier this month after telecom stocks surged following Idea Cellular’ better-than-expected earnings while stronger Asian shares also bolstered sentiment.

Gains were also helped after energy conglomerate Reliance Industries rallied for a second day after its quarterly earnings out on Saturday beat estimates.

Indian shares gained for the sixth consecutive session, helped by buying from foreign investors.

Overseas investors bought Indian shares worth 1.61 billion rupees ($26.73 million) on Monday, marking inflows of $539.4 million over four consecutive days of buying, exchange and regulatory data showed.

Asian shares gained as well on Tuesday, helped by the first signs of cooperation from Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists over the downed Malaysian Airlines plane.

“Markets have digested pre-budget expectations and post-budget worries. Now, the focus would be on flows and delivery of earnings,” said Vijay Kedia, managing director at Kedia Securities Pvt Ltd.

The broader NSE index rose 1.1 percent, or 83.65 points, to end at 7,767.85.

The index is not too far from its record high of 7,808.85 hit on July 8, a couple of days before the new government’s maiden budget.

The benchmark BSE index rose 1.21 percent, or 310.63 points, to end at 26,025.80, closing above the psychologically important 26,000 level.

Telecom stocks rose after Idea Cellular Ltd’s April-June profit beat estimates while sector regulator’s guidelines for mobile phone spectrum sharing also helped sentiment. Bharti Airtel Ltd and Idea Cellular rose 5 percent each, while Reliance Communications ended 3.9 percent higher.

Reliance Industries rose 3.3 percent, adding to Monday’s 2.14 percent gain after its April-June earnings on Saturday beat estimates .

Asian Paints Ltd rose 1.7 percent after the company said its June-quarter profit rose by 23 percent to 3.39 billion rupees.

Hindalco Industries Ltd gained 2.4 percent after aluminium prices hit a 16-month high.

Exide Industries Ltd jumped 4.5 percent after the industrial and automotive battery maker reported late on Monday that April-June earnings rose 17 percent to 1.85 billion rupees ($30.73 million), beating some analysts’ estimates.

Indoco Remedies Ltd surged 18.7 percent after the company said on Monday that the U.S. drug regulator had approved the company’s sterile and solid dosage manufacturing plants located in the state of Goa, paving the way for its ophthalmic product launches in the United State.

However, among stocks that fell, Thermax Ltd plunged 8.4 percent, its biggest single-day fall since December 2008 after traders said lower margin in the energy segment weighed on its quarterly earnings.

FACTORS TO WATCH

* Dollar index rises to 6-week high

* Oil steadies around $108; focus on Ukraine

* Europe rebounds on Ukraine

* Foreign institutional investor flows

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First published on: 22-07-2014 at 16:17 IST
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