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Bull Market Alive; Nifty Spikes 1 % Ahead Of Earnings & IIP Data

250 days ago

(RTTNews) - Renewed FII buying on hopes for more big-ticket reforms helped Indian equities rally on Thursday. The rupee also rebounded from a two-week low after Finance Minister P Chidambaram said there is no serious threat of a ratings downgrade. More economic reforms are on the anvil and there was no serious threat of downgrade of the country's credit rating by global rating agencies, Chidambaram said on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings, boosting investor sentiment.

Reports that the Union Cabinet has hiked the prices of urea-based fertilizers by Rs 50 per ton and firm European cues despite Standard & Poor's downgrade of Spain's credit rating also helped investors shrug off weak exports data and the World Bank's growth forecast downgrade.

The World Bank has lowered its 2012-13 GDP growth forecast for India to 6.0 percent from its earlier estimate of 6.9 percent, citing corruption scandals and a host of policy issues.

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session up 174 points or 0.93 percent at 18,805, while the broader Nifty index rose by 56 points or 0.99 percent to 5,709. Realty, capital goods, metal, power and banking stocks led the rally, while healthcare, consumer durable and oil/gas stocks ended on a subdued note.

Among the prominent gainers in the Nifty pack, Reliance Infrastructure, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, PNB, Bank of Baroda, DLF and Jaiprakash Associates jumped 3-4 percent.

Realty firm DLF jumped 3.7 percent despite a brokerage downgrade, power stocks like NTPC and Tata Power rose 1-2 percent and private sector lender HDFC Bank advanced 1.6 percent ahead of its earnings results. Infosys rose a percent ahead of its second-quarter earnings tomorrow and TCS added 0.2 percent, but Wipro slipped 0.4 percent.

Fertilizer stocks rallied, with Chambal, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers and Deepak Fertilizers gaining 3-6 percent after the government raised urea-based fertilizer prices by Rs 50 per ton.

Maruti Suzuki, India's largest car maker, slid 0.6 percent after industry body SIAM lowered its 2012-13 sales forecast to 1-3 percent against the earlier estimate of 9-11 percent. Bajaj Auto shares rose 0.9 percent despite a brokerage downgrade, while rival Hero MotoCorp ended little changed.

Sintex Industries soared 5.2 percent on robust Q2 results. Unitech jumped 17.5 percent as it agreed to sell its entire 32.75 per cent stake in a telecom joint venture to Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor ASA. Kingfisher Airlines hit the 5 percent upper circuit limit on short covering after recent steep losses.

Suzlon Energy fell 2.7 percent after its bondholders rejected a proposal by the company to extend the redemption of two tranches of bonds due on Thursday, totaling $220.80 million. Drug makers Cipla and Lupin lost 2-3 percent and UltraTech Cement slid half a percent following recent gains.

Elsewhere, other Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday, as Spain's credit rating downgrade by Standard & Poor's intensified concerns over the future of Europe. With Spain resisting a bailout, EU leaders still remaining divided over a banking union and Greece struggling to fulfill a debt-reduction program, investors fear that the regional debt crisis could worsen.

Global growth worries, apprehensions about earnings growth outlook and the ongoing territorial dispute between Japan and China also kept investor mood cautious.

Japan's core machinery orders fell more than expected in August, while Australian unemployment rose to its highest level in more than two years, separate reports released today showed, reinforcing worries about the global economy.

European stocks, however, were moderately higher as upbeat earnings news offset worries over Spain's debt problems.

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