Indian shares higher

14 Sep, 2005

Indian shares rose to a new closing high on Tuesday on strong foreign fund flows and expectations of robust corporate earnings, but the rupee dipped to a near-two-week low as the dollar climbed overseas.
Mumbai's 30-share BSE index rose 0.68 percent to 8,193.96 points, off an all-time peak of 8,202.04. It has risen 24 percent this year, boosted by net 2005 foreign fund investment of $7.9 billion, and 22 percent since the start of June alone.
"There is new money coming in everyday, and even domestic funds have no choice but to stay invested. Investors are favouring consumer goods, technology and auto ahead of earnings," said Deven Choksey, chairman of KRC Shares & Securities.
Choksey expects the index to rise to 8,500 points by the time Indian firms begin reporting quarterly earnings in October.
Lower crude oil prices also bolstered sentiment. US crude was trading around $63.77 a barrel, off its record high of $70.85 hit recently.
Domestic refiners rose on cheaper crude oil. Top refiner Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp both rose nearly 2 percent.
Federal bond prices ended broadly steady as investors made way for fresh state government issues.
The 7.53 percent, 10-year loans sold by 11 state governments were snapped up and traders said the central bank shut the sale within minutes.
The central bank said the states had raised 29.31 billion rupees ($661 million) as ample funds in the banking system meant there was strong demand for them.
The yield on the popular 7.37 percent 2014 bond ended at 6.9722 percent, barely changed from Monday's close of 6.9676 percent.

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