Sensex ends eight-day losing streak; Financial Tech rebounds

The BSE Sensex edged higher on Monday, ending an eight-session losing streak, led by recently hit banking and consumer goods stocks, including ITC, while Financial Technologies also recovered from recent steep falls.

The Sensex has fallen 5.6 per cent over the previous eight sessions since it hit a 2-1/2-year closing high on July 23 on uncertainty about how long the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would continue its measures to defend the rupee which remains close to its record low of 61.21.

Rupee movements will remain important as investors wait for a signal from the central bank on its liquidity tightening measures, while any major announcements in the monsoon session of parliament could also sway sentiment.

"The rupee's movement, RBI's reaction to it, coupled with clearing of bills in the parliament would be key for markets in the short term," said Deven Choksey, managing director of KR Choksey Securities.

The BSE Sensex rose 0.1 per cent, or 18.24 points, to end at 19,182.26, ending an eight-day losing streak.

The Nifty rose 0.13 per cent, or 7.50 points, to end at 5,685.40.

Consumer goods shares gained on value buying. ITC Ltd rose 0.7 per cent. The cigarette maker's shares had slumped 11.4 per cent as of Friday since they hit a record high of Rs 380 on July 24.

Hindustan Unilever ended 0.5 per cent higher after falling 13.1 per cent as of Friday since its record on July 24.

Among other stocks that bounced from the recent slump, ICICI Bank rose 1.7 per cent, while HDFC Bank ended 0.23 per cent higher.

The NSE bank sub-index has slumped 14.4 per cent since the RBI first unveiled its cash-draining measures on July 15.

Financial Technologies (India) Ltd surged 34.3 per cent, recovering from a 73 per cent fall in the previous two sessions sparked after the commodity exchange suspended trading in most forward contracts last week.

Power Grid Corporation of India shares gained 2 per cent after Friday's 11.2 per cent fall after the company's secondary share announcement was seen as overdone.

TV Today Network Ltd, a local television broadcaster, rose 20 per cent after it posted a profit of Rs 11.98 crore for the April-June compared with a loss of Rs 0.35 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Among stocks that fell, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd dropped 19.3 per cent, marking its lowest close in nearly eight years, after the company's quarterly profit dropped 49 per cent on sharply lower sales in its power and industry businesses in a slowing economy.

Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2013