Sensex posts one-month closing high on FII buying

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex and the Nifty rose for a second consecutive session on Monday to a one-month high as blue chips, including banks gained on continued optimism around foreign-investor buying even as rising global uncertainties hit other Asian markets.

It was a mixed day for power utilities, with Tata Power Co surging to a nearly 1-1/2 month high after the regulator allowed it to raise tariffs, although NTPC plunged to a more than 5-year low as the order was seen as negative for the state-run firm.

Indian equities are expected to remain supported as overseas investors have been net buyers of nearly $430 million over the last eight sessions, helping ease some of the concerns in a year dominated by worries about the U.S. Federal Reserve's tapering of its monthly bond buying and the outlook for China's economy.

 

"Foreign buying is supportive, so while markets may remain range-bound from hereon, stock-specific moves will continue," said Paras Adenwala, managing director and principal portfolio manager at Capital Portfolio Advisors.

The Sensex rose 0.53 percent, or 110.69 points, to end at 20,811.44.

The Nifty rose 0.5 percent, or 30.65 points, to end at 6,186.10.

Both indexes marked their highest close since January 24.

Among blue chip stocks, Axis Bank rose 3.8 percent, while Larsen and Toubro ended 2.8 percent higher.

Tata Power Co Ltd closed up 5.1 percent after the federal power regulator said it could raise tariffs for electricity from its plant in Mundra in India's Gujarat state, a decision also likely to boost its earnings outlook.

Pfizer Ltd surged 9.7 percent after earlier marking its highest intraday level since December 9, after the company said a unit of its parent Pfizer Inc will buy close to a 61 percent stake from two other units after an internal restructuring.

Info Edge India Ltd shares ended 1.8 percent higher. It earlier hit its all-time high of 708.05 rupees on news Facebook Inc's $19 billion offer for mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp was seen raising valuations for internet-based companies.

Icra Ltd shares rose 20 percent, its maximum daily limit, after largest shareholder Moody's Corp , announced a conditional open offer to acquire up to 2.6 million shares in it at 2,000 rupees a share for about $84 million.

However, shares of another rating agency Credit Analysis and Research Ltd fell 8.4 percent after the company said bids for a share sale by stakeholders were rejected "after no bid was found acceptable".

NTPC Ltd also slumped 11.8 percent, after earlier marking its lowest level since October 27, 2008, after the electricity regulator tightened incentives on capacity utilisation and tax treatments for the state-owned company, according to analysts.

(Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)