Sensex up 142 points on robust data, global cues (Roundup)

MUMBAI - A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday closed 142 points higher on steady global cues, slipping from the intra-day highs it reached on the back of strong industrial data.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,994.07 points, shut shop at 17,064.95 points, 142.87 points or 0.84 percent up from its previous close at 16,922.08 points.

The Sensex had touched an intra-day high of 17,131.56 points on better than expected industrial output data for April.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,119.35 points, up 0.8 percent from its previous close at 5,078.6 points.

Broader market indices were also in the positive terrain, with the BSE midcap index ending 0.28 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index 0.44 percent up.

Of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE, energy, banking, and capital goods gained the most, while healthcare and telecom ended in the red.

Reliance Industries rose during the last session of trade, after news broke that it had bought Infotel Broadband — the pan-India license winner in the broadband wireless spectrum auction which ended early Friday.

Announcing its entry into the telecom market, Reliance Industries said it would pay about Rs.4,800 crore by way of subscription to fresh equity capital at par to be issued by Infotel, after which it would own about 95 percent of the stake.

The company earlier in the day announced that it had discovered more oil in the Cambay basin. Understandably, the scrip ended 3.03 percent higher at Rs.1,046.25.

Other major gainers on the 30 scrips on the Sensex were BHEL, up 2.66 percent at Rs.2,392.30, M&M, up 2.11 percent at Rs.604.40, and ICICI Bank, up 1.94 percent at Rs.845.35.

Among the losers were Bharti Airtel, down 3.75 percent at Rs.274.55; Sterlite Industries, down 1.04 percent at Rs.635.05; ACC, down 0.98 percent at Rs.861.20; and Reliance Infra, down 0.9 percent at Rs.1,112.75.

The market breadth was positive with 1,531 stocks advancing, 1,311 scrips declining and 125 remaining unchanged.

Some amount of short covering and value buys in energy stocks crushed in the aftermath of BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, helped give a boost to major Asian markets.

The Japanese Nikkei ended higher at 9,705.25 points, up 1.7 percent, while the South Korean Kospi closed higher at 1,675.34 points, up 1.43 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 1.22 percent higher at 19,872.38 points, while the Shanghai composite index ended 0.29 percent up at 2,569.94 points.

A rally in BP’s stock gave strength to European markets. BP’s stock rose as much as 5.9 percent during trade as investors hoped that the company would only delay its dividend payout and not slash it as feared earlier.

UK’s benchmark index, the FTSE 100 was ruling 0.58 percent higher at 5,162.44 points, while the French CAC 40 was up 0.84 percent at 3,546.19 points.

However, the German DAX was down 0.06 percent at 6,052.85 points.