BSE Sensex gains around 280 points; IT stocks gain

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex rose 1.5 percent on Tuesday, marking its biggest single-day gain in almost a month, as IT shares such as Infosys rose to a 28-month high on optimism about the sector's business outlook while beaten-down lenders rose on value buying.

Additional measures by the government since Monday, aimed at attracting capital inflows into a weak economy and to control a wide current account deficit, were also seen boosting sentiment.

The government on Tuesday also raised the import duty on gold to 10 percent from 8 percent and that on silver to 10 percent from 6 percent.

 

Traders continue to monitor the rupee and await further steps by the government to prop up the troubled currency, while eyeing global developments related to stimulus withdrawal in the U.S. to gauge the near-term direction of the market.

"Economy is in a bad shape the trend remains down for markets. Rupee, elections and Fed tapering concerns would weigh in the short term," said Vijay Kedia, director at private wealth management firm Kedia Securities.

The Sensex rose 1.49 percent, or 282.86 points, to end at 19,229.84, rising for a third consecutive day to mark its highest close since August 1.

The Nifty rose 1.55 percent, or 86.90 points, to end at 5,699.30, closing just a tad below the psychologically important 5,700 level.

IT shares gained as the rupee remained near a record low and on increasing optimism about the sector's business outlook. Infosys rose 2.6 percent while Tata Consultancy Services ended 0.3 percent higher.

Tech Mahindra shares rose 5.1 percent after its April-June standalone net profit saw an over-three-fold rise to 5.99 billion rupees.

Banking shares gained on value buying. ICICI Bank rose 2.9 percent while HDFC Bank ended 3 percent up.

The Bank Nifty fell 16.3 percent in four consecutive weekly falls, as of Thursday's close.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gained 1.1 percent adding to Monday's 7.1 percent rise after April-June earnings were seen as positive after factoring out a provisioning charge to settle a patent suit.

Cipla gained 2.2 percent, rising for a third day after its April-June net profit rose 18.5 percent to 4.75 billion rupees.

DLF gained 7.9 percent after the company's April-June earnings surpassed expectations.

Marico shares rose 4.7 percent after the company reported a rise of 27.4 percent in April-June profit, beating analysts' estimates.

However, among decliners, Hindalco Industries fell 2.8 percent after its profit adjusted for higher other income came in lower than expectations.

(Editing by Sunil Nair)