Sensex ends eight-day losing streak; rupee, monsoon session watched

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - 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 benchmark BSE index has fallen 5.6 percent 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 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 benchmark BSE index rose 0.1 percent, or 18.24 points, to end at 19,182.26, ending an eight-day losing streak.

The broader NSE index rose 0.13 percent, or 7.50 points, to end at 5,685.40.

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

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

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

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

Financial Technologies (India) Ltd surged 34.3 percent, recovering from a 73 percent 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 percent after Friday's 11.2 percent fall after the company's secondary share announcement was seen as overdone.

TV Today Network Ltd , a local television broadcaster, rose 20 percent after it posted a profit of 119.8 million rupees for the April-June compared with a loss of 3.5 million rupees in the same quarter a year ago.

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

(Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)