Nifty rises to 1-1/2 week closing high

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex and Nifty rose for a third straight session on Tuesday to mark their highest close in 1-1/2 weeks as coal-related stocks such as Jindal Steel and Power surged on the government's plans to auction coal blocks the top court cancelled in August.

India promised on Monday to open up the coal industry to private players and moved closer to selling a stake in a state-run oil company, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked up the pace on economic reform days after relaxing fuel price controls.

Jindal Steel provisionally jumped 7.3 percent, while Sesa Sterlite ended higher 4.2 percent.

 

The benchmark Sensex provisionally closed 0.55 percent higher, while the Nifty gained 0.61 percent, marking their highest close since Oct.9.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)