Indian Stocks End At 19-Month High; Sensex Crosses 19,100 Points, Nifty Ends Above 5,800

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex Thursday ended at its highest level since April 2011 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the Indian equities to an “overweight” rating and the government agreed to allow voting in the Parliament on its decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail.

The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty also touched a 19-month high following the positive comments on the economy by rating agency Moody’s and international investment bank Goldman Sachs.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 1.75 percent or 328.83 points to close at 19,170.91 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 1.70 percent or 97.55 points to 5825.00. It was the second consecutive session of over 300 points gain for the Sensex.

Markets opened on a firm note, tracking gains from the Asian peers. Asian stocks advanced Thursday as investor sentiments turned positive overnight after U.S. House Speaker John Boehner expressed optimism about the fiscal cliff talks.

A Goldman Sachs report Thursday raised Indian stocks to an “overweight” rating from a “market weight” rating, citing the growth recovery and moderation in inflation. In another report Thursday, Goldman Sachs pegged India’s economic growth at 6.5 percent and 7.4 percent in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Indian markets started surging this week after Moody’s reaffirmed India’s rating outlook as stable while hopes that the government would be able to push the economic reforms also added to the sentiment. Moody's Tuesday said that its Baa3 rating for India was stable, citing the country's strong economic growth along with high savings and investment rates as supportive of the rating.

Most of the sector indices, except technology and IT shares, were trading with gains. Realty sector climbed 3.46 percent, banking sector 3.08 percent and auto sector surged 2.09 percent.