Indian shares edged higher on Tuesday, mirroring a firm trend across Asia despite growing doubts about central bank action to encourage economic growth and combat the euro zone's debt crisis.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex is currently up 100 points or 0.57 percent at 17,792, while the broader Nifty index is at 5,392, up 25 points or 0.47 percent from its previous close.
Second-line stocks are following suit and the market breadth is fairly positive, with about 2 shares gaining ground for every share that declined on the BSE.
Elsewhere across Asia, key benchmark indexes in Japan, China, Australia and South Korea are rising between 0.1 percent and 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is edging down 0.1 percent.
Back home, IT, auto, power and realty stocks are gaining ground, while banking and metal stocks are subdued. Consumer durable stocks are little changed after finance minister P Chidambaram urged PSU banks to lower borrowing costs on loans for consumer durables, saying this would help boost the manufacturing sector and kick start investment cycle.
Infosys is rallying 3.3 percent after a U.S. court dismissed a harassment lawsuit filed against the company by an American employee. Maruti Suzuki India is moving up a percent before resuming production at its Manesar plant today. Tata Power is gaining 0.7 percent after it raised Rs.1,500 crore via a debenture issue.
Reliance Power is adding 1.2 percent after denying any wrongdoing in allotment of coal reserves to its Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project.
Bilcare is climbing 15 percent after the pharmaceutical packaging solutions provider signed a definitive agreement with United Drug Plc for the sale of its global clinical supplies (GCS) businesses in the U.S. and the U.K.
Ranbaxy Laboratories is rising half a percent after launching authorized pioglitazone hydrochloride tablets in the U.S. market.
Wockhardt is losing over 2 percent after the pharmaceutical and biotech firm received the U.S. food and drug administration approval for marketing a generic version of 200mg tablets containing Entacapone, which is used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Indian shares posted modest gains last week, with benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty rising less than a percent during the truncated week after the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on allocation of coal blocks pegged loss to the exchequer at a whopping Rs.1.86 lakh crore.
by RTT Staff Writer
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