8:30AM Asian markets closed mixed with Japan ending up, while HK down.
Asian markets ended mixed Tuesday. The Nikkei Index ended 0.7% higher at 17,621, after Japanese markets were closed on Monday. Mitsubishi Estate advanced 3.9%, Sumitomo Realty & Development gained 6.4% and Mitsui Fudosan, which Friday revised its profit outlook upwards for the fiscal year to March, surged 6.8%. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index shed 2.2% to 20,132. Declines were led by China-related firms and property developers. Hang Lung Properties dipped 4.9%, Sino Land lost 3.9% and Cheung Kong also declined 3.9%.

South Korean Kospi Index gained 0.3% to 1,418. The benchmark index was given a boost following news of an agreement on the six-nation talks with North Korea on its nuclear disarmament. Hyundai Merchant Marine advanced 3.3% and Hyundai Elevator jumped 3.5%. The Shanghai Composite Index in China added 0.9% to end at 2,832. Airline, railway and taxi companies advanced on expectations of strong earnings from holiday traffic. Air China gained 6.3%, Daqin Railway rose 4.8% and bus and taxi operator Shanghai Bashi Industrial advanced 3.8%. Australia S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.2% up at 5,937. Merger and acquisition activities lifted the market. Alumina rose 5.9% after the Times of London reported that BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto separately had plans to buy Alcoa.


8:00 AM Shares in Alcoa rose 7% in pre-market trading on new it’s a bid target.
Alcoa (AA: chart) climbed 7% in pre-market trading following news that mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are separately considering bids for the aluminum producer, but haven''t approached Alcoa''s board yet. According to the report, the metals giants want to boost production with aluminum prices hitting records. Shares in the Dow component rose 10% in Frankfurt trading to $36.32. Shares of BHP Billiton (BHP: chart) and Rio Tinto (RTP: chart) each advanced 1.3% in midmorning London trading. It was also reported that BHP executives feature prominently on Alcoa''s own wish-list for a new chief executive, including departing BHP Billiton CEO Chip Goodyear. Alcoa''s own Helmut Wieser also is a candidate for Alcoa''s CEO. Alcoa''s current CEO is due to retire next year.


7:30AM NY-6:30PM Mumbai Sensex ends 100 points lower on inflation concerns.
The Sensex on BSE finished 99.72 points, or 0.70%, lower at 14,090.98. The session was extremely volatile as the market traded within a range of 400 points. The market-breadth was negative, of the 2,605 stocks traded, 1,484 declined, 1,056 advanced and 68 were unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex only nine advanced, while the rest 21 declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,875 crore, higher than Rs 3,266 crore on Monday, while on NSE, the turnover was Rs 9,995.7 crore, also higher than Rs 8,908.45 crore on Monday.

Economic news

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora stated on Tuesday that the government is considering a cut in excise duty in gasoline by one rupee to curb the rising inflation. He, however, ruled out any reduction in gasoline and diesel prices till the international prices came down to $50 per barrel. Separately, World Bank expressed confidence that India will be able to control the rising inflation and maintain current growth rate.

Vodafone on Tuesday said its brand new acquisition, Hutch-Essar, would soon become the number one or two mobile operator in India. Hutchinson has agreed in principle to sell its 67% stake in Hutchinson Essar to Vodafone. The regulatory and shareholder approval is expected by the end of the second quarter. Vodafone has paid thirty times operating earnings for its stake, a substantial premium to the market expectations. The company is plans to share its mobile network infrastructure with Bharti Airtel to reduce capital expenditure.

Trading highlights

Akruti Nirman was the most active stock with a turnover of Rs 218 crore followed by Reliance Communications and Global Broadcast.

Advancers

Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and ONGC were leading the gainers in the large-caps.

Bajaj Auto gained 3.5% to Rs 3,046, Bharti Airtel was up 2.3% to Rs 745.65. Bharti Airtel signed an infrastructure sharing agreement with Vodafone, which will allow both operators to share nearly 70,000 mobile towers across the country.

ONGC rose 2.5% to Rs 887.90. ONGC is about to strike the first asset swap deal with Italy’s ENI on Wednesday. ONGC had also initiated talks with Brazilian Petrobras for offering each other a stake in their respective oil & gas blocks.

Reliance Industries gained 1.1% to Rs 1,372 and helped the barometer index to recover in late trading. Ranbaxy advanced 1.8% to Rs 617.70, as it launched a generic form of Lipitor in Denmark and compete with current global market leader Pfizer for cholesterol drug.

Decliners

Hindalco led the decliners, down 4% to Rs 143, continuing the sharp drop on concerns that it will not profit from the $5.9 billion Novelis purchase.

Engineering & construction large-cap L&T lost 3% to Rs 1,609. Tata Steel gave up 2.5% to Rs 432.55. Infosys shed 1.7% to Rs 2,310 in volatile trading and Reliance Communications slipped over 3% to Rs 441.