Thursday September 24, 01:40 PM
Indian shares shrug off losses to end up 0.4 pct
By Ami Shah
MUMBAI, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose 0.37 percent
on Thursday as short-covering around the monthly derivatives
expiry helped it recover from earlier losses, with optimism on
earnings keeping the market near 16-month highs.
Leading telecom Bharti Airtel rose 1.4 percent as
South African officials met with India's markets regulator and
officials from the central bank and finance ministry over its
proposed tie-up with MTN.
The outcome of the meeting was not yet known.
The stock had fallen 6.6 percent over the previous two days
as doubts emerged about the deal being sealed before a deadline
of Sept. 30, although talks have already been extended twice.
The main stock index ended up 61.93 points at
16,781.43 points, with 18 components gaining ground, having been
down as much as 1.3 percent during trade.
'Rollovers and short-covering in the last hour of trade, made
the market change its direction,' said Sanjay Vaid, president of
institutional equities at Systematix Shares.
Vaid said the long-term outlook was bullish, and earnings
upgrades in the coming quarters would drive the market higher.
The close was the second-highest this year, behind only
Tuesday's 16,886.43, which was the strongest in 16 months.
Foreign funds have been net buyers of nearly $11 billion of
stocks this year, a key factor in the market's 74 percent rise.
Infosys Technologies fell 3.4 percent, its biggest
fall in four months, to 2,285.10 rupees on concerns of higher
expenses after a report it planned to give pay rises and
promotions next month, dealers said.
The stock clocked a volume of 333,740 shares, 2.4 times its
average over the past 30 days.
Hindalco fell for a third day on concerns over the
outlook for Novelis unit. It fell 4 percent to 129 rupees.
'While Hindalco's standalone business is expected to benefit
from higher commodity prices, we view Novelis as an area of
concern,' Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news) said in a note earlier this week.
Engineering (Milan: ENG.MI - news) and construction firm Larsen & Toubro
rose 1.4 percent to 1,657.65 rupees. It won a $415 million order
to set up a gas-based power plant for GMR Energy.
In the broader market, 1,495 gainers led 1,302 gainers, in a
high volume of 603 million shares.
The 50-share NSE index closed 0.33 percent higher at
4,986.55.
MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME
* Wire & Wireless on 21 million shares
* Suzlon Energy on 13.1 million shares
* Ispat Industries on 10.5 million shares
STOCKS THAT MOVED
* State-run oil marketing firms Indian Oil Corp,
Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp, , which are required to sell products at mandated
discounts, rose between 1.5-3.2 percent on a decline in crude oil
prices.
* AIA Engineering rose 2.7 percent to 283.20
rupees after 4.15 million shares or 4.4 percent of its equity
changed hands at 275 rupees per share in a block deal on the BSE.
FACTORS TO WATCH
* For technical analysis, double click on www.reutersindia.net
* Indian rupee report
* Indian bond report
* Dollar retreats on U.S. rate view; stg takes hit
* Oil drops towards $68 on demand concerns
* U.S. stock futures signal dip; Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS - news) eyed
* World stocks, oil fall ahead of G20; GBP hit MKTS/GLOB]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
(Editing by John Mair)
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