Indian shares rise as foreign funds buy; Bharat Heavy Electricals up 5.07 pct

Indian shares rise as foreign funds buy; Bharat Heavy Electricals up 5.07 pct

	Published : Tue, 24 Jul 2007 06:35 By : Agencies Print this Story

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Indian shares opened higher led by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and Larsen & Toubro Ltd, on strong buying interest by foreign funds, dealers said.

Funds interest in the country's shares has been firm, as they expect the companies which are yet to detail their first-quarter earnings to also report robust figures.

At 0455 GMT, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share Sensex was trading at 15,822.67, up 0.59 pct, or 92.76 points.

The National Stock Exchange's broader S&P CNX Nifty was at 4,637.60 points, up 0.40 pct.

BHEL ranked top amongst BSE-30 gainers. It rose 5.07 pct to 1,854.90 rupees on reports it has bagged an order worth 18.29 bln rupees for manufacturing and setting up three 500 megawatt thermal power units in the northern Indian state of Haryana.

Larsen & Toubro followed next, gaining 3.15 pct at 2,696.70 rupees, as the outlook for the company and the sector as a whole stays positive given the rise in infrastructure projects in the country, dealers said.

Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) and Tata Power Co (TPC) rose on reports the duo are in talks with the country's commodity exchanges, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd and National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd, to pick up an equity stake in two power exchanges proposed to be set up by them.

REL was up 0.74 pct at 720.10 rupees and TPC was up 0.10 pct at 669.20 rupees.

Reliance Energy also gained on expectations it could be soon be selected for the Sasan ultra mega power project in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd was the biggest loser amongst Sensex constituents as it detailed weaker-than-expected earnings for the quarter ended June, dealers said. It slid 1.54 pct to 656.80 rupees.

Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd made its debut on the Bombay Stock Stock Exchange at 567.50 rupees, compared with the issue price of 500 rupees. The stock was now traded at 559.00 rupees.

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