Buoyant European mkts spur sentiment, Sensex up 386 pts

The country's equity markets staged a comeback in late trade after European bourses opened on a bouyant note, lifting sentiment among investors.

A statement from deputy chairman of Planning Commission saying the government has no plans to impose measures to curb higher capital inflows also allayed fears among market participants, triggering short covering in Sensex (^BSESN : 16029.16 -13.02) heavyweights. The 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) gained 386 points from its day's low of 16,635.75 points to end the trading session above the psychological 17,000 level at 17021.85 points, up 236.20 points or 1.41% from the previous day. This helped the Sensex end with a weekly gain of 1.03%. Similarly, the Nifty (^NSEI : 4779.6 -13.05) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) scaled above the psychological 5,000-mark to end the session at 5,052.45 points, a rise 63.45 points or 1.27%.

Earlier, the markets were spooked by concerns that India might consider imposing measures to curb speculative capital inflow after Brazil unveiled a 1.5% tax on certain trades involving American Depository Receipts (ADR) issued by Brazilian companies.

"Earlier in the day, the markets remained in a subdued mood, tracking losses in the US markets along with disappointing results by Dell Computers. Further, weak Asian markets also dented sentiment back home," said Gopal Agrawal, head of equity, Mirrae Asset Global. "However, a firm opening by European markets helped boost sentiments. Going forward, Indian markets will be tracking global events closely," he added.

Experts said the markets are also expecting the government to go ahead with its financial sector reforms in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

Galleon sells Edelweiss stake

Scam-tainted Galleon, whose founder Raj Rajaratnam has been charged with the biggest-ever insider trading scam, offloaded its stake in Edelweiss Capital on Friday. Galleon through its firms, Galleon Special Opportunities Master Fund Spc and Galleon International Master Fund Spc, sold 19. 52 lakh shares (representing 2.60% stake) and 33.16 lakh shares (representing 4.42% of equity capital), respectively. While a family-owned private banking firm Privatbank IHAG Zurich bought 26 lakh shares, Reliance Mutual Fund purchased 8 lakh shares. Rashesh Shah and Venkatramaswamy, as trustees of Edelweiss Employee Welfare Trust, purchased 21.13 lakh shares.