India's benchmark stock index rises 16 percent in 2006-07

India Business
India's benchmark stock index rises 16 percent in 2006-07
By IANS, Mar 31, 2007 - 8:58:49 PM

Mumbai, March 31 - The fiscal 2006-07 turned out to be a good year for stock market investors in India as a benchmark index rose 15.9 percent, gaining for the fourth consecutive year and achieving a lifetime high too.

The rise in the Sensitive Index - of the Bombay Stock Exchange -, however, was well below its 73.7 percent gains in the fiscal 2005-06.

For the week ended Friday, the Indian shares rose for the second time in two days and the 30-share Sensex rose 92.44 points or 0.7 percent at 13,072.10. It was, however, down 1.6 percent on the closing week. The index had its first quarterly drop sliding 5.2 percent.

The index, which hit its all-time high of 14,723.88 on Feb 9, has fallen in six of the past seven weeks. It is 11.2 percent below its Feb 9 mark.

The broader 50-issue National Stock Exchange - index, Nifty, climbed 23.45 points or 0.62 percent to 3,821.55 levels Friday to end the fiscal year that ended Saturday with a gain of 12.3 percent.

'Index heavyweight Bharti Airtel was the most notable blue-chip gainer during the fiscal, gaining nearly 85 percent, followed by India's top private sector company Reliance Industries gaining almost 72 percent,' said analyst Jayesh Shroff.

'The shares that had the biggest fall during the fiscal were top aluminium maker Hindalco, down by more than 26 percent, and top consumer goods maker Hindustan Lever, which fell more than 24 percent,' Shroff told IANS.

'Rising interest rates will be a concern for investors in the weeks to come,' he said, referring to the Reserve Bank of India's hike in short-term lending rates by 25 basis points Friday.

Leading the major gainers Friday were top drug maker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, up 3.13 percent at Rs.727.50, followed by state-owned energy producer NTPC, up 3.06 percent at Rs.149.75 and top cigarette maker ITC, up 2.49 percent at Rs.150.40.

Third largest software exporter Wipro, led the major index losers Friday, down 1.27 percent at Rs.558.35, followed by top software exporter TCS, down 1.27 percent at Rs.1,231.20 and top housing finance company HDFC, down 0.96 percent at Rs.1,520.35.

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