PM Manmohan Singh pep-talk lifts Sensex by 219 pts to over two-week high,TCS shares hit all-time high

While the stock markets were volatile as the Prime Minister began his speech in the Parliament shortly after noon,share prices surged on heavy buying in the last 90 minutes of trade with sectors like consumer durables,healthcare,banking,IT and FMCG seeing good enquiries.

PM Manmohan Singh in LS: Read full speech

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended at 18,619.72,up 218.68 points or 1.19 per cent,extending gains to the third session in which the index has rose over 650 points. Today is the highest close for Sensex since August 14 (19,367.59).

“The PM said once again that 1991 crisis will not be repeated and sub-3 per cent GDP is very far from happening. Market showed strength ahead of GDP numbers to be announced today. Oil prices eased as Syria crisis seems to be away,” said Rakesh Goyal,Senior VP,Bonanza Portfolio Limited.

On similar lines,the Broad-based NSE Nifty rose by 62.75 points,or 1.16 per cent to end at 5,471.80,after moving between 5,360.20 and 5,493.30. Also,MCX-SX’ SX40 index ended at 10,938.49,up 88.98 points.

Quote: Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said the government will now have to undertake more difficult reforms,including reduction of subsidy and implementing GST,to put economy back on the path of stable,sustainable growth.

In the BSE Sensex pack,the two most influential counters Reliance Industries (RIL) rose by 0.73 per cent to Rs 851.55 and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) by 3.96 per cent to Rs 2,023.15. Other major gainers were Cipla Ltd,Dr Reddys Laboratories,Bajaj Auto,Hero MotoCorp,Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and State Bank of India (SBI).

Sectorally,the consumer durable index gained the most by rising 1.90 per cent to 5,615.79,followed by healthcare index by 1.59 per cent to 8,965.59. Banking index rose by 1.59 per cent to 10,304.35 and Information Technology index by 1.54 per cent to 8,027.55.

Indian shares gain over 1 pct; traders hope for more measures

(Reuters) – India’s benchmark index rose over 1 percent in a volatile session on Friday,marking its highest close in nearly two weeks as blue chip shares surged tracking a rebound in the rupee for a second day,ahead of April-June GDP data. Ebbing prospects of a U.S.-led military strike against Syria were also seen helping shares even as foreign investors sold over $1 billion worth of shares in the previous 10 sessions through Thursday.

The broader NSE index however fell 4.7 percent for August,marking its biggest monthly fall in six,on continued concerns about a slowing economy,flip-flop policy response and investors pulling out of riskier assets globally on expectation of a scaling back of U.S. monetary stimulus.

Apart from watching the rupee and flows,traders are hopeful that some action on the ground alongside quick-fix solutions like a diesel price hike,export benefits would cheer the share market.

“There is a lot of compulsion to provide continuous support to rupee and thereby stock markets in the near term,” said G. Chokkalingam,Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer at Centrum Wealth Management.

The benchmark BSE index rose 1.19 percent,or 218.68 points,to end at 18,619.72,also ending 0.5 percent higher for the week,snapping its five-week losing streak.

The broader NSE index rose 1.16 percent,or 62.75 points,to end at 5,471.80,although closing flat for the week.

Among blue chip shares,HDFC Bank rose 3.8 percent while Hindustan Unilever Ltd ended 4 percent higher.

Software exporters gained to record highs on improving U.S. business prospects.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd rose 4.4 percent after earlier hitting an all-time high of 2,050 rupees,while Wipro Ltd gained 2.1 percent after touching a 52-week high at 495 rupees. Tech Mahindra Ltd rose 0.7 percent after Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of its shares at “overweight” and a target price of 1,650 rupees,saying they remain undervalued and a re-rating can continue.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd also gained 0.2 percent,adding to Thursday’s gains of 2.1 percent,on market speculation the government may announce a hike in diesel prices after parliament’s monsoon session.

Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services Ltd surged 7.6 percent ahead of its inclusion in MSCI’s emerging markets and India indexes,effective from Monday.

However,among stocks that fell,Axis Bank Ltd dropped 2.1 percent ahead of its exclusion from MSCI standard and large cap indexes,effective Sept. 2.