Stocks rose, reversing earlier losses, led by Tata Motors, the nation’s biggest truck-maker, after it announced the launch of the long-awaited Nano.
Tata Motors gained 7 per cent after saying it would begin taking orders for the Nano in April. Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced after Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel said the company would produce 80 million cubic metres of gas a day in 2010.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, rose 52.3 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 8,954.86 at close of trade. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange gained 23.15 or 0.8 per cent to 2,785.65. The BSE 200 Index advanced 3.8 points, or 0.4 per cent to 1,049.35. S&P CNX Nifty futures for February delivery rallied 1.04 per cent to 2,785.65.
Tata Motors rose the most in almost three months to Rs 149.95. Maruti Suzuki India, India’s biggest carmaker, gained 5 per cent to Rs 696.05, the highest since October 14. The Nano car will be launched in March and bookings will be accepted from April, Tata Motors said in an e-mailed statement.
RIL surged 1.9 per cent to Rs 1,290.80. India’s most valuable company will initially produce 15 million cubic metres of gas a day from its biggest field off the nation’s east coast, the government said.
Ranbaxy Laboratories tumbled 18 per cent, the most in four months, to Rs 169.85 after US regulators censured the nation’s biggest drugmaker for allegedly falsifying data about the shelf life of some products.
“We view this as a significant negative development for Ranbaxy,” Abhishek Singhal, an analyst at Macquarie Group, said in a note to clients today. “We believe that the timeline on resolving these issues will stretch past this year and impact potential sales in 2010 as well.”
Piramal Healthcare erased gains to close 17 per cent up at Rs 208.5 after the company said its founders did not plan to dilute their holdings.
Earlier, it rose as much as 29 per cent on a newspaper report citing two people familiar with the development that Sanofi-Aventis has emerged the leader to buy a substantial stake in the company.
