Rupee posts strong gains as Indian shares rise 6%

Mumbai: India's rupee rose by the most in more than a decade and stocks and bonds soared on speculation the government will allow more overseas investment in the financial industry after surviving a confidence vote in parliament. The currency strengthened 1.6 per cent to 42.075 a dollar at 5pm in Mumbai. The Sensex gained 5.9 per cent to 14,942.28, the most since March 25 and the biggest fluctuation of global benchmark indexes tracked by Bloomberg News. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank led lenders higher. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's victory gives him a mandate to raise foreign investment in insurers and lift curbs on voting rights in banks that had been held up by his former communist allies, according to Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. The win extends the tenure of a government that has delivered record economic growth and lifted... [read full story]