(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Indian stocks climbed for a third day after the government announced additional measures to trim the current-account deficit and support the nation's currency. The rupee rallied.
ICICI Bank, the nation's biggest private lender, rose the most since June 28, while HDFC Bank jumped three per cent, the largest advancea in two weeks. Infosys, India's second- biggest software services company, climbed to the highest level in four months, while Wipro jumped to a 13-year high.
The S&P BSE Sensex gained 1.5 per cent to 19,229.84, the highest close since August 1. The government increased import duties on gold and platinum to 10 per cent from eight per cent and boosted the levy on silver to 10 per cent from six per cent, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. The rupee reversed an earlier loss, rising to 61.0175. The currency sank to record low of 61.8063 per dollar on August 6.
"The rally was led by banking shares as they were oversold," Kaushik Dani, a fund manager at Peerless Mutual Fund, which has about $745 million in assets, said by phone from Mumbai. "The measures taken by the government, plus the other policies lined up to stem the fall of the rupee, seem to be bearing fruit."
Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said yesterday the government will also ease rules governing overseas commercial borrowings and certain deposit programmes for non-residents to spur capital inflows. India has implemented a series of measures since last month to bolster its currency amid concerns the 10 per cent slump against the dollar this year may fuel inflation.
Consumer prices grew 9.64 per cent in July from a year earlier, compared with 9.87 per cent in June, according to data released after the market closed on Monday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts was for a 9.71 per cent increase. ۬
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