BSE Sensex edges up; weaker rupee boosts exporters

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex and Nifty edged up on Thursday as exporters such as Infosys Ltd rallied after the rupee fell to a nine-month low, although the weaker local currency hit other blue-chips such as Tata Motors by tempering hopes of interest rate cuts.

Meanwhile, a television news channel reported that Kotak Mahindra Bank may buy ING Vysya Bank , sending both stocks to their record highs. Kotak said no decision had been made in relation to any merger.

Broader gains were capped by worries that overseas investors may slow down purchases or lock in some profits after local shares rose to record highs on Tuesday.

 

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth $11.59 million on Wednesday and $2.4 million on Tuesday. They have bought a net $15.47 billion worth of shares so far in 2014, according to regulatory data.

Investors are waiting for the winter session of the parliament scheduled to begin next week and the Reserve Bank of India's policy review on Dec. 2, to decide their further course of action.

"There is event risk of winter session, RBI review. Foreign investors are also in a wait mode before these events and are likely to pare some positions," said Vinod Nair, head of fundamental research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd.

The BSE Sensex rose 0.12 percent to 28,067.56, 0.8 percent away from its record high hit on Tuesday.

The Nifty gained 0.23 percent to 8,401.90, above the psychologically important 8,400 level, and 0.64 percent away from its all-time high of 8,455.65.

Exporters led gains. Infosys rose 1.3 percent, while Tata Consultancy Services ended up 1.2 percent.

Tech Mahindra rose 3 percent, HCL Technologies gained 1.1 percent and Wipro advanced 1.2 percent.

Among drug exporters, Cipla rose 3.2 percent and Lupin gained 1.3 percent.

Kotak Mahindra ended 7.4 percent higher after marking a record high of 1,163 rupees earlier in the day, while ING Vysya soared 7.8 percent after marking an all-time high of 865 rupees. Earlier in the day, ET Now reported Kotak is close to acquiring ING Vysya.

Among losers, blue-chips, including rate-sensitive stocks, such as Tata Motors declined 0.9 percent as investors tempered rate-cut hopes after the rupee fell to its weakest in nine months.

HDFC Bank ended lower 0.9 percent, while Axis Bank lost 0.8 percent.

(Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)