Sensex turns positive for November

The Sensex and the Nifty edged higher on Thursday, turning positive for the month, as a weaker rupee boosted IT shares such as Infosys; banking stocks such as SBI rose on the first day of the winter session of parliament.

Sentiments also got a boost by the government’s move to allow state-run Life Insurance Corp (LIC) to triple the maximum stake it can hold in other companies to 30 per cent.

Investors are hoping that the government, caught between a tough macro environment and twin deficits, would have little choice but to pass some of the proposed bills to open up the insurance, pension and banking sectors in the winter session of the parliament. “The reforms process has commenced once again which is a good launching pad for the market,” said Kishor P Ostwal, chairman and managing director of CNI Research Ltd.

The Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex rose 0.31 per cent, or 56.96 points, to end at 18,517.34, rising for the second day. The Nifty rose 0.23 per cent, or 12.95 points, to end at 5627.75.