Fertiliser stocks surge 8% in early trade

Smart buying ahead of the Budget announcement saw shares of fertiliser companies surge.

Smart buying ahead of the Budget announcement saw shares of fertiliser companies surge by up to 8 per cent in early trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange today amid expectations that more sops will be given to the farm sector,including a reduction in interest rates.

The Union Budget 2011-12 is likely to provide sops to the farm sector,including a reduction in interest rates to 4 per cent in case of timely re-payment and boosting investment in agri-infrastructure.

At present,farmers get credit at a rate of 7 per cent. However,those who clear dues on time get an incentive of 2 per cent — paying back at the rate of 5 per cent.

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The surge was led by National Fertilisers,which soared by 8.17 per cent to touch an early high of Rs 111.20 on the BSE. In a similar fashion,Coromandel International’s shares surged by 5.73 per cent to Rs 272 apiece.

In addition,the scrip of Nagarjuna Fertilisers & Chemicals went up 2.59 per cent,Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals was up 2.34 per cent and Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers jumped by 6.93 per cent on the BSE.

Meanwhile,the BSE benchmark Sensex was also trading firm at 17,849.90,up 148.99 points from the previous close at 1108 hours.