Sensex up 405 points as rupee recovers on fresh RBI steps

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex surged 405 points today, the biggest gain in a week, as the battered rupee recovered on fresh steps by the RBI to ease volatility in the currency markets.
The Reserve Bank of India yesterday allowed the three state-owned oil companies to buy dollars from the central bank. The PSU oil companies are the biggest buyers of dollars, requiring USD 8-8.5 billion every month for the import of an average 7.5 million tonnes of crude oil.
The rupee, which closed at a historic low of 68.80 yesterday, recovered and quoted at 67.30 in the afternoon.
The 30-share Sensex opened higher and stayed in positive territory until it settled at 18,401.04, a rise of 404.89 points or 2.25 per cent. The gain was the most since August 22, when the index climbed 407 points, or 2.27 per cent.

The broader Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange added 124.05 points, or 2.35 per cent, to 5,409.05. The SX40 index on the MCX-SX closed at 10,849.51, up 219.46 points or 2.06 per cent.
Oil and gas led all BSE sectoral indices higher, followed by metal, FMCG, capital goods and auto shares.

Sesa Goa was the biggest gainer on the index, climbing 13.54 per cent. The other major gainers were HDFC, Hindalco and Reliance Industries.
The three PSU oil companies gave up their initial gains at the close. Indian Oil rose 1.45 per cent to Rs 209.55, Bharat Petroleum climbed 0.45 per cent to Rs 270.05 and Hindustan Petroleum fell 0.31 per cent to Rs 163.55.

US President Barack Obama's statement that he had not yet decided whether to attack Syria in the aftermath of the Assad regime allegedly using chemical weapons, also gave a reprieve to investors.