STOCK MARKET ON RECOVERY PATH

Ignoring the rupee's further descent to a fresh record low, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today gained for the first time in five days surging 407 points on the back of metal shares, which got a boost from encouraging data from China. The 30-share Sensex opened at 17,896.84, lower than the previous close of 17,905.91, and dropped to a low of 17,759.59. Value buying saw the index recover and touch the day's high of 18,349.82 before it closed at 18,312.94, a gain of 407.03 points, or 2.27 per cent. The biggest gain for the index in almost two months helped investors become richer by Rs 1.17 lakh crore. The index had gained 519.86 points on June 28. Brokers said the rally was backed by metal stocks after a manufacturing index in China, the biggest consumer of metals, increased in August from an 11-month low. They said higher openings in the European stock markets as manufacturing in Germany expanded at a faster-than-expected pace also influenced the Indian market sentiment. "Global cues provided needed respite to our domestic bourses amid further weakness in rupee," said Jayant Manglik, president retail distribution at Religare Securities Ltd. "With better-than-expected manufacturing numbers from China, metal stocks outshone other pivots by strong margins." The Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange surged by 105.90 points, or 2 per cent, to 5,408.45. The SX40 index on the MCX-SX added 199.44 points to 10,817.88.