Indian shares rose 0.96 percent on Tuesday as fund buying resumed on the back of global recovery hopes after an overnight rally on Wall Street, dealers said. The benchmark 30-share Sensex index closed 159.91 points higher at 16,852.91. The market opened strongly, after being closed for a public holiday Monday, on hopes of an economic recovery after India's core industrial sector grew by 7.1 percent in August, according to official data released late last week.
Fund managers were also optimistic about earnings growth for Indian companies in the second quarter ending September. The earnings season kicks off with software giant Infosys Technologies on October 9. "Firm Asian and US trends led to fresh buying, but losses were trimmed in afternoon trade on profit-taking," said a dealer with brokerage Sharekhan. India's Sensex, which has risen nearly 75 percent this year, is trading at near 16-month-highs. Gainers led losers 1,656 to 1,109 on turnover of 50.06 billion rupees (1.04 billion dollars).
Bharti Airtel gained 4.05 rupees or 1.09 percent to 418.85, ahead of an expected announcement on a possible tie-up with South Africa's flagship cellular group MTN. TCS advanced 23.35 rupees or 3.98 percent to 610.4, as media reports said the company expected a recovery in the global banking sector soon, quoting its chief executive S. Ramadorai. Wipro added 15.3 rupees or 2.71 percent to 582.5 on hopes of a recovery for global economies. ICICI Bank climbed 26.2 rupees or 3.12 percent to 864.8.