WSJ:Indian Shares End Higher On Crude Fall, Positive Global Cues
MUMBAI (Dow Jones)--Indian shares jumped the most in nearly four months Friday, tracking global markets and as a sharp fall in crude prices sparked hopes of easing inflationary pressures and lower input costs for companies.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index surged 513.19 points, or 2.9%, to close at a 10-day high of 18,240.68, near the upper end of its 17,804.94-18,268.95 intraday band. The Sensex's biggest rally since March 1 helped the benchmark close the week 2.1% higher following losses in the previous two weeks.
On the National Stock Exchange, the 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty climbed 151.25 points, or 2.8%, to end at 5,471.25.
Trading volume on the BSE rose to INR28.17 billion from Thursday's INR25.26 billion. Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,984 to 852, while 124 stocks were unchanged.
Brent crude prices plunged nearly $7 to $107.26 a barrel Thursday after the International Energy Agency said its members would release 2.0 million barrels of oil a day from strategic reserves for 30 days.
Indian markets were also supported by positive global cues on news that Greece's government had agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund on its latest five-year austerity plan, raising hopes of a resolution to the country's debt woes.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.9% and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 2.2%. In Europe, Germany's DAX was trading 1.1% higher and France's CAC was up 1.3%.
"The recovery started yesterday [Thursday] and was fuelled further by the sharp fall in crude prices," said Sharmila Joshi, head of equities at Fairwealth Securities.
She expects the benchmark to extend gains next week as traders move to square off short positions ahead of the expiry of June derivatives.
All but one of the 30 Sensex constituents closed in the black Friday.
State Bank of India, the country's largest lender by assets, led the rally in banks, rising 6.0% to INR2,288.15. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp. added 4.5% to INR666.95 and ICICI Bank closed 3.3% higher at INR1,065.25.
Realty led sectoral gains as investors hunted for bargains among the battered stocks. DLF gained 2.9% to INR216.50.
Engineering firm Larsen & Toubro climbed 4.3% to INR1,739.00 after the company announced new orders worth INR16.10 billion.
Technology stocks rose after Tata Consultancy Services's chief executive confirmed that demand for outsourced services remains strong. Infosys gained 3.2% to INR2,862.10 and TCS ended 3.8% higher at INR1,136.20.
Reliance Industries, the sole Sensex loser, fell 0.03% to INR870.40, following Thursday's 2.9% gain.
Among non-Sensex shares, airlines soared on the oil sell-off and a data release that showed robust growth in passenger traffic. SpiceJet surged 20% to INR32.60 and Jet Airways soared 14% to INR469.65.
