BackMarkets rise 0.3%; telecoms, autos up
Markets rise 0.3%; telecoms, autos up
PremiumBangalore: Indian shares flip-flopped on Friday, showing signs of fatigue after a big rally, but rising foreign fund investment kept investors optimistic about the outlook.
Larsen & Toubro Ltd climbed more than 1% after the engineering and construction conglomerate said it had got orders worth Rs15.85 billion ($358 million).
Telecom counters rose on expectations for improving pricing environment and robust subscriber growth, dealers said. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications rose 0.9% and 2.7% respectively.
Auto shares were down on profit sales following a run-up, with Mahindra & Mahindra dropping nearly 2%. Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki lost 0.5 and 0.3% respectively.
Car sales in India rose an annual 30.4% in September, industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said on Friday, as a rapidly expanding economy continued to pull buyers to showrooms.
The Indian auto industry is poised for a moderate growth in the December quarter, the president of the SIAM said and forecast an 18-20% expansion for the industry in the year that ends next March.
Export-led outsourcers such as Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy and Wipro that had rallied over the past few weeks shed 0.2-1.8%.
“This is a small correction, a very healthy correction. The sell-off is at desired levels," said Deven Choksey, managing director and chief executive of KR Choksey Shares.
At 11:38am, the 30-share BSE index was down 0.2% at 20,266.40 points, with 17 of its components declining. It had risen as much as 0.5% in early trade.
The benchmark, which had hit a 33-month-high on Monday, is up over 16% this year and is about 900 points away from a record high of 21,206.77 scaled in January 2008.
Strong growth outlook for India, Asia’s third-largest economy, and limited opportunities in the developed world has seen brisk investments by foreigners.
Overseas funds have bought a record $20.9 billion of stocks so far in 2010, with more than a third of this happening since the start of September.
The International Monetary Fund said India’s GDP would expand by 9.7% in 2010, up from 9.4% it had projected in July.
In the broader market, gainers led losers in the ratio 1.2 to 1 on volume of 260 million shares.
The 50-share NSE index was down 0.2% at 6,109.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei was trading 1% down and the MSCI’s measure of Asian markets other than Japan was down 0.2% by 11:37am.
STOCKS
Pantaloon Retail Ltd rose as much as 2.9% after its board approved raising up to Rs750 crore in one or more tranches.
Renewable energy company Orient Green Power was trading down more than 7% at 43.50 rupees, after debuting 4.3% below the issue price of 47.
Diversified infrastructure and waste management solutions provider Ramky Infrastructure Ltd, which listed down 7% from its issue price of Rs450, extended losses to over 23% to Rs345.05.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
