Mauritius stocks rise most in 26 months

Mauritius’s stocks index rose the most in 26 months after the U.S.Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates at a record low for two more years, boosting demand for higher-yielding frontier-market assets.

The 38-member SEMDEX gauge of shares surged 3.4 percent to 1,957.34 at the 1:30 p.m. close in Port Louis, its biggest increase since June 2009. State Bank of Mauritius Ltd. (SBM), the second-biggest lender by market value, led gains, rallying 6.9 percent to 93.50 rupees.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke vowed yesterday to keep borrowing costs at an all-time low through mid-2013 to revive a recovery that’s “considerably slower” than expected. European and Asian stocks extended a rebound from a nine-day, $7.8 trillion rout in global equities.

“The Federal Reserve reassured the market,” Vikash Tulsidas, manager at Axys Stockbroking Ltd., said by phone from Port Louis. “The Dow Jones bounced back. Asian stocks rose today. Mauritius is following the same trend.”

Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), the country’s largest lender by market value, advanced 3.6 percent to 172 rupees, the biggest increase since June 2009. New Mauritius Hotels Ltd. (NMH), the Indian Ocean island nation’s largest leisure operator by revenue, rose for the first time in 11 days, adding 0.6 percent to 86.5 rupees.