The Hindu Business Line : Indian counters shine

Equities at the US and the Indian markets jumped sharply thanks to economy reports. The US economy expanded in the second quarter at an annual pace of 3.3 per cent, better than expected, in August. India registered a robust growth in GDP at 7.4 per cent for April-June and saw a decline in inflation rate.

Thanks to strong economic numbers, the US stocks rose; the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained for the seventh week in eight. For the week, the S&P 500 jumped 1.9 per cent to 1131.50, a level not seen since June 30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5 per cent to 10,192.65 and the tech-laced Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.3 per cent to 1,942.20.

The BSE Sensex ended the week at 5675.54, the highest close since May 6, 2004, as against the last weekend's close of 5527.75, a gain of 2.67 per cent. On the National Stock Exchange, the S&P CNX Nifty zoomed 3.05 per cent to close at 1775.15.

This week saw the listing of Tata Motors ADRs in the New York Stock Exchange; it listed the ADRs through conversion of its existing Global Depository Shares. The ADRs were listed at $9.15, a premium of 2.7 per cent to the underlying stock. The ADR ended the week at $9.25 but its premium (with respect to the underlying equity fell) to 1.43 per cent.

With the strong showing by the US markets, all the Indian ADRs finished on firm note.

Infotech counters were the major gainers. Expectations that Indian companies will post strong financial performance for the quarter ended September 30, seemed to have fuelled rally in tech counters. Besides, Infosys Technologies announcement that it will consider paying a mid-year dividend on October 12 also pepped up the sentiment for tech counters.

Infosys closed higher at $58.39 against the previous week close of $55.62 while Wipro ended at $19.3 (17.28) and Satyam jumped to $23.82 ($22.56).

Merck & Co said that it sued generic competitor Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd accusing the latter of infringing patents for Propecia, a treatment for male-pattern baldness. Following this, Dr. Reddy's Lab finished a tad week at $16.78 ($16.80).

Reports that the Government may merge State-run phone companies BSNL and MTNL by the end of this year appeared to have boosted the sentiment for the latter. The counter ended sharply higher at $7.15 ($6.83).

VSNL's announcement that it is launching Tata Indicom `Global Calling Card' - a voice product catering to the communication requirements of Indian overseas travellers seemed to have fuelled rally in the counter. VSNL closed the week higher at $7.6 ($7.31).

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