Trading highlights

Newly-listed Cinemax India was the most-active stock today with a turnover of Rs 171.20 crore followed by Infosys and Tata Steel.

Advancers

Aluminium large-cap Hindalco, which was the top decliner on Tuesday, led the advancers today, up 3.9% to Rs 147.60. Other gainers included Reliance Communications adding 2.6% to Rs 451.3, Bharti Airtel surging 3.2% to Rs 761 and ACC gaining 1% to Rs 1,021.6. Oil leader ONGC advanced 1.7% to Rs 900 and Tata Steel rose 1.5% to Rs 438.9.

ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas branch of India''s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd., announced on Wednesday it had bought a 20% stake in Italian firm Eni’s deepwater block in Congo. In return, ONGC has sold to Eni a 34% stake in its deepwater block in the Mahanadi basin. Index heavy Reliance Industries ended 0.8% higher at Rs 1,377.15 and had a major role in the recovery of the market from the lower level.

Decliners

Banks were the worst hit after the move of RBI on CRR. State-run SBI led the decliners, off 6.1% to Rs 1,101.25, on a volume of 8.31 lakh shares. It has rebounded from a low of Rs 1,085.55. ICICI Bank also shed 4.1% to Rs 915 and HDFC Bank declined 5.2% to Rs 1,016.65.

Auto maker Maruti Udyog lost 3.8% to Rs 857.40, Grasim was down 3.5% to Rs 2,655.85. Bajaj Auto shed 1% to Rs 3,015.16. The company is expecting revenues of Rs 10,000 crore for the current fiscal year with total sales of 28 lakh vehicles. Infosys shed 1.1% to Rs 2,283.95.








1:00PM European markets closed higher, lifted by autos, miners and tech stocks.
European stocks ended higher on Wednesday, reaching new multi-year highs as autos, mining and technology stocks advanced. Fed Reserve Chairman’s testimony also lifted sentiment. In the automotive sector, auto giant DaimlerChrysler rose 4.6% after it said it''s considering strategic options with partners for Chrysler. Following DaimlerChrysler’s restructuring moves, Volkswagen shares rose 2.5% and Porsche shares increased 1.6%. Miners Xstrata, Vedanta Resources and Rio Tinto closed more than 2% higher, helped by stronger metals prices and continued deal speculation. The technology sector was boosted by gains of 1.1% from French telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent which said that it may cut up to about 12% of its workforce in that country. Other technology companies, including mobile phone company Nokia and telecom equipment maker Ericsson also rose. The German DAX 30 closed up 1% at 6,961.18. Earlier in the session, the index touched a six-year high, the French CAC-40 climbed 0.8% at 5,725.84, its highest level since May 2001, and the U.K. FTSE 100 index ended 0.6% higher at 6,421.20.


11:30AM U.S. market averages rallied. The Dow hit a new high.
U.S. stock averages traded higher Wednesday morning, with the Dow hitting a new record high. Blue-chip stocks were boosted by 2.3% gain for Caterpillar (CAT: chart), 1.7% for Microsoft (MSFT: chart), 1.3% for Intel Corp. (INTC: chart) and 1.6% for Verizon (VZ: chart). Financial stocks like American Express (AXP: chart), up 2.3%, JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM: chart), up 1% and Citigroup (C: chart), up 1% also provided support. Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. (DE: chart) jumped 9% after it posted a bigger-than-expected Q1 profit on strong international equipment sales. Earnings rose about 1% to $1.04 per share, up from 99 cents per share a year ago, exceeding estimates of earnings of 79 cents per share. Revenue rose 5% to $4.4 billion. The company also boosted its earnings outlook for the year.

Among other companies releasing quarterly results, Office Depot Inc. (ODP: chart) said its Q4 earnings rose 27% as the office supplies retailer cut operating costs and used promotions to drive holiday sales. Net income jumped to 48 cents per share, up from 34 cents per share a year ago. The stock fell 2.4%. DaimlerChrysler (DCX: chart) rose 4.5% after announcing its cost-cutting plan. Chip-equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT: chart) supported the tech sector with an advance of 4% on better-than-expected quarterly results. By sector, broker/dealers , computer technology and metals miners were leading gainers, while real estate investment trusts issues declined. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 83.08, or 0.66%, at 12,737.93. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 11.19, or 0.77%, at 1,455.55 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 31.14, or 1.27%, to 2,491.02. Bonds rose sharply following Bernanke''s testimony, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.76% from 4.81% late Tuesday.

Ben Bernanke Predicted Modest Economic Growth in 2007.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke began 2-days of congressional testimony on Wednesday, telling the Senate Banking Committee that moderate economic growth is likely for 2007. The Fed chief also stated that the central bank remains worried about inflation, despite recent improvement on that front. In his prepared remarks, the Federal Reserve chairman reported that the U.S. economy seems likely to expand at a moderate pace this year and next, with growth strengthening somewhat as the drag from housing diminishes. Bernanke said that the estimates of Fed governors and regional bank presidents call for real GDP to increase about 2-1/2 to 3 percent in 2007, slightly lower than the projection given last July. For 2008, the forecast calls for growth of about 2-3/4 to 3 percent.