Sensex rises 131 points

The Sensex rose 0.8 per cent on Thursday to its highest close in nearly three months, after strong manufacturing data in India and other major economies from China to Germany eased growth concerns and bolstered risk appetite. The 30-share BSE share index closed 131.27 points, or 0.76 per cent, higher at 17,431.85 points, its third straight day of gains. Telecom stocks were in the spotlight through most of the session after the Supreme Court revoked all 122 telecoms licences issued under a scandal-tainted 2008 sale and plunged the telecom market of Asia’s third-largest economy into uncertainty. Largest operator Bharti Airtel jumped 6.8 per cent, its biggest percentage gain in almost 19 months, on expectations it would be a beneficiary of the ruling, while Reliance Communications and Unitech, the Indian partner of Norway’s Telenor, fell 3.7 per cent and 6.9 per cent, respectively.