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Tuesday September 29, 12:00 PM
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BSE Sensex rises 1 pct, Bharti gains
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex (^BSESN) climbed more than 1 percent on Tuesday, led by Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS), Infosys (INFOSYS.BO) and ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK.NS), as global recovery hopes drove markets across the region higher.
Shares in top mobile firm Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL.BO) gained ahead of an exclusive talks deadline for a planned tie-up with South Africa's MTN Group. The firms have extended talks twice and the current deadline runs until Wednesday.
There is still little clarity about the outcome of the deal, which is facing increasing scrutiny in South Africa. The prime minister said over the weekend he hoped the deal would go through.
Separately, the finance minister said neither of the companies were looking at a dual-listed structure immediately, a structure not currently allowed by Indian laws and seen as a road block for a successful deal.
By 10:57 a.m. (0527 GMT), the 30-share BSE index was up 1.18 percent at 16,890.73, with all but three components gaining. The index had started 0.8 percent higher and rose as much as 1.3 percent.
It has risen about 75 percent so far in 2009, making it one of the best performing indices in the region.
The market was shut on Monday for a local holiday and will be closed on Friday for Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary. Analysts
said the holidays would keep investors cautious.
"The market is consolidating after the very nice recovery," brokerage India Infoline said in a note. "The quarterly earnings will be crucial in deciding whether the rally gets another leg up."
Companies begin releasing their quarterly results from the second week of October.
Energy giant Reliance Industries gained 1.2 percent to 2,155.55 rupees, software bellwether Infosys added 1.9 percent to 2,289 rupees and ICICI Bank rose 2.4 percent to 858.55 rupees. The three stocks have a combined weight of more than 30 percent in the benchmark index.
Bharti was up 1.5 percent at 420.50 rupees.
Outsourcers gained on the back of optimism in the United States, their biggest market. Top software exporter Tata Consultancy (TCS.NS) jumped 3.7 percent and No. 3 Wipro (WIPRO.NS) added 3.5 percent.
In the broader market, 1,817 gainers were ahead of 560 losers
on relatively low volume of 155.3 million shares.
The 50-share NSE (^NSEI) index rose 1.15 percent to 5,015.90.
STOCKS ON THE MOVE
* Drug maker Lupin Ltd (LUPIN.BO) rose 3.5 percent to 1,175.05 rupees after the Economic Times reported it had bought U.S. marketing rights and inventory for cholesterol lowering drug Antara from bankrupt Oscient Pharma for $39 million.
* Solvay Pharma India jumped 17.9 percent percent to 965 rupees after U.S. firm Abbott Laboratories agreed to buy its Belgian parent's drug business. Shares in Abbott's India unit jumped 10.5 percent to 638.40 rupees.
MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME
* Era Infra Engineering Ltd on 14 million shares
* SpiceJet on 4.8 million shares
* Ispat industries (NIPPONDEN.NS) on 3.7 million shares
(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)
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