Indian Shares End Volatile Session Higher

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended a volatile session modestly higher on Tuesday, with firm global cues and continued FII buying underpinning sentiment.

The benchmark BSE Sensex finished up 27.67 points or 0.13 percent at 21,170, with power and oil/gas stocks pacing the gains. FMCG, auto and metal stocks ended on a subdued note, capping gains in the broader market. The broader Nifty index closed at 6,304, up 12.90 points or 0.21 percent from its previous close.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address a press conference on January 3, an official statement said, paving the way for Rahul Gandhi's projection as the Congress party's prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha polls.

Apollo Tyres rallied 5.4 percent after U.S.-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Co terminated a proposed $2.5 billion sale to the company. Canara Bank advanced 2.2 percent after hiking lending rates.

HCL Technologies gained 1.5 percent after the company received government approval to set up an IT city in Lucknow. MCX rose 0.7 percent on reports that Universal Commodity Exchange is in talks to buy Financial Technologies' stake in the commodity bourse.

Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals soared 5.3 percent. The company will likely surpass its FY14 revenue guidance by 5 percent, JR Vyas, CMD of Dishman said in an interview to CNBC- TV18. Gati shares jumped 6.4 percent after a fund run by independent investor Radhakishan Damani bought 4 million shares of the logistics provider through bulk deals on the BSE and NSE Monday.

Banks ended largely unchanged on asset quality concerns after the RBI's latest Financial Stability Report raised the red flag over rising bad loans in banks. ICICI Bank rose marginally, but SBI slipped 0.2 percent and HDFC Bank eased 0.3 percent.

Retailer Trent ended down 0.3 percent, erasing earlier sharp gains, after the government approved Tesco Plc.'s plan to invest $110 million to buy 50 percent stake in the Tata Group firm. Shopper's Stop rose 2 percent and Pantaloons Fashion & Retail soared 6.7 percent.

Telecom stocks ended mixed after Mukesh-Ambani promoted Reliance Jio Infocomm rejected a demand for uniform spectrum usage charge. Bharti Airtel gained 0.2 percent and Reliance Communication added half a percent, while Idea Cellular retreated 1.9 percent.

Shares Piramal Enterprises, a minority investor in Vodafone India, fell 1.6 percent after rising more than 6 percent intraday as the Foreign Investment Promotion Board cleared Vodafone Plc.'s proposal to hike stake in its Indian subsidiary.

ONGC shares edged down 0.2 percent. ONGC Videsh, its overseas arm, acquired an additional 12 percent stake in a Brazilian oilfield for $561 million after blocking a Chinese entry.

Welspun Corp declined 2.7 percent. Welspun Infra Projects, a subsidiary of the company, has entered into a pact to sell its stake in its joint venture with Leighton Group. SKS Microfinance tumbled 3 percent as the microlender completed a Rs.55-crore securitization deal, its fourth such transaction during this financial year.

Elsewhere, the other Asian markets ended mixed in light trading as some of the regional markets remained closed for New Year's Eve. A flat close on Wall Street overnight and a lack of positive triggers rendered investor mood somewhat cautious heading into the New Year.

The major European markets rose in thin pre-holiday trading, although gains were capped due to market holidays across Europe.