Indian shares snap 7-day losing streak; RBI policy, state elections in focus
* BSE index gains 1.02 pct; NSE ends 1.11 pct higher
* Banks rally as bonds gain after OMO announcement
* Tata Steel surges after quarterly profit beat
* India headline inflation accelerates to 8-month high in
October
By Abhishek Vishnoi
MUMBAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose 1 percent on
Thursday, snapping a seven-session losing streak as lenders
rallied after the central bank governor announced bond
purchases, easing some concerns about losses in the sector tied
to their heavy debt holdings.
Shares also tracked a regional rally after U.S. Federal
Reserve Chairman nominee Janet Yellen said the Fed has "more
work to do" to help the U.S. economy, spurring hopes she would
opt to delay tapering of monetary stimulus if her confirmation
is approved by the U.S. Congress.
With reporting of July-September earnings results largely
over, traders said the focus will be on a series of state polls
this month ahead of general elections next year, and the Reserve
Bank of India (BSE: BOI.BO - news) 's policy review next month.
Data on Thursday showed India's headline inflation
accelerated to an eight-month high of 7.0 percent in
October, raising the prospect of a fresh rate hike despite the
central bank governor's soothing words on Wednesday on core
retail inflation.
"Post a strong quarter of earnings and comments from the Fed
Chief nominee, indicating a delay in any tapering of QE, markets
did rallied," said Rajat Rajgarhia, director of research at
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
"However, near-term trends will still remain range bound,
till the time we see clarity on any growth revival in 1QCY14 or
election results in 2QCY14," said Rajgarhia.
The benchmark BSE index rose 1.02 percent, or
205.02 points, to end at 20,399.42, snapping a seven-day losing
streak ever since hitting a record high early this month.
The index fell 1.3 percent for the week. Markets are closed
on Friday for a local holiday.
The broader NSE index rose 1.11 percent, or 66.55
points, to end at 6,056.15, and fell 1.4 percent for the week.
Banking stocks rallied after RBI governor Raghuram Rajan
said the central bank would buy bonds worth 80 billion rupees
($1.26 billion) via open market operations (OMO) on Nov. 18.
That sparked a rally in bonds, reducing some of the concerns
that banks would sustain losses from their debt portfolios.
Among private sector lenders, ICICI Bank Ltd (NYSE: IBN - news)
surged 3.7 percent, while HDFC Bank Ltd (BSE: HDFCBANK.BO - news) rose 1.3
percent.
In state-owned banks, State Bank of India (BSE: SBI.BO - news) and
Canara Bank Ltd rose 1.5 percent each, while Bank of
India Ltd jumped 5.2 percent.
Tata Motors Ltd shares surged 5.7 percent after
its unit Jaguar Land Rover Ltd reported global
wholesales of 36,157 vehicles in October, beating some analysts'
estimates.
Tata Steel Ltd jumped 4.9 percent after the
company's second-quarter profit beat expectations, helped by a
rise in prices and market share at home.
Reliance Communications Ltd (BSE: RCOM.BO - news) gained 2.9 percent
adding to previous day's 2.4 percent rise after the company
reported better-than-expected September-quarter earnings on
Tuesday.
Natco Pharma Ltd surged 4.1 percent after
prospects for its generic version for Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries' billion dollar drug got a boost from a
favourable U.S. court ruling on Wednesday.
However among stocks that fell, Cipla Ltd declined
2.3 percent after the company's July-September net profit fell
by 27 percent.
For additional stocks on the move double click
FACTORS TO WATCH
* Dollar rises versus yen, economy worries weigh on euro
* Brent steady above $107; Yellen, inventories in focus
* Asian stocks rally; Yellen backs Fed support
* Foreign institutional investor flows
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS:
Pan-Asia........ Japan....... S.Korea...
S.E. Asia.......
Hong Kong... Taiwan...
Australia/NZ....
India....... China....
OTHER MARKETS:
Wall Street ....
Gold ....... Currency.
Eurostocks.....
Oil ........ JP bonds..
ADR Report .....
LME metals. US bonds..
Stocks News US.. Stocks News Europe
DIARIES & DATA:
Indian Data Watch Asia earnings diary
U.S. earnings diary European diary
Indian diary Wall Street Week Ahead
Eurostocks Week Ahead
TOP NEWS:
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Forex news Global Economy news
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(Editing by Anand Basu)