Indian shares soar on ratings upgrade

India's benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange index gained 3.4 per cent yesterday to its highest close since August 29, bolstered by bargain buying and better-than-estimated US housing starts which helped increase the risk appetite among global investors. The main 30-share BSE index, which had shed 5.2 per cent over the past five days, bounced back from a 28-month low hit in the previous session, to close 510.13 points higher at 15,685.21. "It was a technical bounce in a bear market. The Indian market is still trading below its 200-day moving average," Mousa Haddad, head trader with National Bank of Abu Dhabi Asset Management told Gulf News. Indian shares are down a quarter so far this year and are the worst performing major market globally. Foreign institutional investors have been net sellers of around $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) so far in 2011, compared with a record investment of more than $29 billion in 2010. A series of graft scandals has pushed the ruling coalition far away from building consensus on policy decisions that are pivotal in lifting investment and growth. "The BSE could test its 50-day moving avergae of about 16,500 in the coming sessions, if the positive momentum continues," said Haddad. Pradeep Unni, senior relationship manager at Dubai-based Richcomm Global Services DMCC told Gulf News one of key reasons that the Indian markets rallied was because of Moody's rating upgrade. Global credit ratings agency Moody's yesterday reaffirmed India's rating as ‘stable.' "Rupee fall will boost export competitiveness," it said. An ‘upgrade' or ‘downgrade' rating depends on the decline or increase in deficit and government debt ratios, Moody's added. "There is clearly a renewed optimism in the markets with the economic data from the US and Germany better than expected. In addition to this, a successful Spanish debt auction and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's pledge to support exporters and small businesses eased global growth worries," Unni said. ECB boost He observed that the European Central Bank (ECB) had offered unlimited three-year refinancing facilities to the region's banks, which is a back-door quantitative easing, helping ease worries about the European sovereign-debt crisis. Meanwhile, European stocks resumed their decline as euro-area lenders sought more funds from the ECB than economists had predicted. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.4 per cent to 237.68 at 2:40pm in London. The gauge earlier rallied as much as 1.4 per cent and dropped as much as 0.7 per cent after the ECB agreed to provide three-year loans to euro-area banks to keep credit flowing to the economy during the sovereign-debt crisis. "It's another slight shrug of the shoulders," Richard Hunter, the London-based head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, told Bloomberg. "The underlying story hasn't changed with Europe's debt crisis. The hope is that this money finds its way back into sovereign debt in the new year." US stock markets fell on opening yesterday after Tuesday's strong gains.