From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 02:00 PM IST

Within minutes of Left parties withdrawing support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Indian equities rose impressively on major bourses Tuesday, anticipating friendlier policies towards the corporate sector.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which at one point was trading at a loss of 476.03 points over the previous day's close, staged a smart rally, minutes after the Left parties formally announced their withdrawal of support to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh government.

At around 1 p.m., the 30-share barometer index had gained a lot of lost ground and was down just 208.8 points, or 1.54 percent, over the previous day's close.

The Communist parties, which prop the United Progressive Alliance government from outside, Tuesday said they were withdrawing support following Manmohan Singh's decision to go ahead with the India-US civilian nuclear deal.

'That time has come,' Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters, referring to the Left parties' warning that they would withdraw support should the government continue with its plans to make the nuclear deal operational.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)