Sensex rises tracking higher global markets

REUTERS - The BSE Sensex rose on Friday after the killing of a pro-EU British politician was seen swaying sentiment in Britain toward the "Remain" camp ahead of the referendum next week.

Campaigning for the June 23 vote was suspended after Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox, who vocally advocated for Britain remaining in the 28-member trading bloc, was shot dead on Thursday.

Asian shares rose while European shares were poised for a strong start in a volatile week marked by shifting investor expectations ahead of the Brexit vote.

"If the exit (Brexit) happens, I think at least in the short to medium term, there is going to be lot of liquidation, not only in equity markets globally. Also, there is going to be a lot of volatility in the currency market," said Gaurang Shah, vice president, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

 

He said should Britain leave the EU, the Indian auto, IT and pharma sectors will get hit primarily.

The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.28 percent at 8,164.10 as of 0821 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.39 percent higher at 26,629.41. For the week, both indexes were almost flat.

Housing Development Finance Corp was the top NSE index mover after unit HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd said it had agreed with Max Financial Services and subsidiary Max Life Insurance Co Ltd to open exclusive merger talks. Max Financial Services rose as much as 20 pct to a record high of 514.50 rupees.

Coal India rose as much as 2.16 pct after the country's coal secretary called on power-generating companies to stop importing coal and source it from Coal India instead, according to a government statement.

Among losers, Bharti Infratel fell as much as 4.02 percent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to "sell" from "neutral" on Thursday.

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)