Sensex rallies in last hour, ends 228 points up

Mumbai, Aug 21: Indian equities markets closed for the week on a high, with a key index rising smartly in the last hour before closing bell on Friday and adding 228 points to its previous session’s tally. The rally was led by auto, technology and realty stocks.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 14,951.49 points, ended at 15,240.83 points, up 228.51 points or 1.52 per cent. The broader-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed in the positive terrain at 4,528.8 points, up 1.69 per cent.

Broader market indices similarly ended in the green, with the BSE midcap index closing 1.5 per cent higher and the BSE smallcap index ending 1.61 per cent up. The market breadth was positive, with 1,711 stocks advancing, 958 declining and 102 remaining unchanged.

India will import food

New Delhi, Aug 21: India will not hesitate to import food as and when the need arises to deal with this year's drought, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here on Friday, adding that stocks of grain with state-run agencies were healthy now.

"We will go for imports. But we do not make announcements of import in a very big way because that has another cascading effect," the minister told a meeting with state agriculture ministers here. "The moment news spreads India is going for heavy dosage of imports, then it will automatically have an impact on market prices being jacked up," Mukherjee told the meeting called to deliberate on the current drought declared in 246 out of India’s 626 administrative districts. "The decision is already there. Whichever commodity is in short supply, to meet the demand and supply mechanism, we shall go for imports," he said, adding that for commodities like edible oils and pulses, imports were on for a long time.

Indian envoys begin brainstorming

New Delhi, Aug 24: A three-day conclave involving about 120 Indian envoys posted abroad began here on Monday with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna outlining the country’s strategy in dealing with key foreign policy challenges, ranging from terrorism and climate change to global meltdown and soft power projectionEnunciating the traditional values of India’s foreign policy, Krishna set the tone by exhorting diplomats to sharpen their skills in dealing with emerging challenges like climate change, the global financial meltdown and multilateral trade negotiations, said official sources. He also spoke about giving a fresh impetus to improving India’s relations with neighbours and sustaining momentum in ties with major powers like the US, Russia and the European Union, the sources said.