Advancers

Reliance Energy led the advancers, gaining 1.96% to Rs 552.65, on 3.02 lakh shares. The stock traded in a broad range of Rs 567.90 - Rs 541. Grasim also added 0.06% to Rs 2,750 and Dr Reddy’s advanced 1.50% to Rs 769 in a session of declines.

i-flex solutions zoomed 16.90% to Rs 2,047, after Oracle Corp sweetened the open offer price for i-flex to Rs 2,100 per share. Oracles wants to have a 90% stake in i-flex, a much larger one than the previously thought 75% stake.

Oracles move triggered a rally in some IT stocks. Polaris Software jumped on the bandwagon, 8.22% higher to Rs 146.75, Geometric Software surged 5.26% to Rs 119, Nucleus Software gained 4.66% to Rs 529.45 and Subex Azure soaring 5.14% to Rs 665.35.

Sugar stocks continued their upward trend on beliefs that the sugar export ban may be lifted soon. Bajaj Hindusthan gained 1.80% to Rs 254, Simbhaoli Sugars was 2.10% higher to Rs 69.50), Rajshree Sugars moved up 1.67% to Rs 88.40 and Balrampur Chini added 1.42% to Rs 89.25.

Decliners

It was a tough session for Tata Motors, off 3.44% to Rs 861.50, as 3 lakh shares were traded on the market. Other major decliners from the Sensex stocks included ACC declining 2.95% to Rs 1,100, Hindalco losing 2.86% to Rs 178.15 and Hindustan Lever shedding 2.75% to Rs 233.75.

Reliance Communication slipped 2.30% to Rs 445.85, while Index heavy Reliance Industries shed 2.68% to Rs 1,265.90, on a volume of 11.20 lakh shares. State Bank of India dipped 0.31% to Rs 1,342. The bank plans to start operations in Israel by March 2007 and also is keen to enter Pakistan. NTPC lost 0.46% to Rs 151, following Merrill Lynch improving the price target on the stock.

Metal shares continued their downward trend on BSE. Tata Steel slipped 2.54% to Rs 479, Sterlite Industries lost 3.13% to Rs 553, Maharashta Seamless slid 2.76% to Rs 448.90, Jindal Steel & Power declined 3.57% to Rs 2,130, JSW Steel was off 2.13% to Rs 329.25. UTV Software dipped 5.32% to Rs 262.60, although it bought two gaming companies, one in India and another in the UK.

Indian Oil Corporation, the largest refiner in India, declined 2.42% to Rs 435.05. There are reports that the company acquired a 12.5% stake in the trans-Anatolian Pipeline Company, which is constructing a pipeline from Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun to Ceyhan.

Mahindra & Mahindra shed 2.23% to Rs 828, following its statement on Friday that group company Mahindra Engineering & Chemical Company had sold its cable accessories division to 3M Electro & Communication India.


9:45AM Stocks opened modestly higher, boosted by employment report.
Stocks opened modestly higher Friday amid easing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy. The long awaited employment report brought some relief to the market as the Labor Department said 132,000 jobs were created in November, greater than the expected increase of 105,000. Unemployment ticked up to 4.5%. However, sharply higher oil prices and weaker dollar limited gains.

In corporate news, Xilinx (XLNX: chart) dropped 5.9% after the chip maker lowered its Q3 earnings forecast, pointing to unexpected weakness in its business. Yum Brands Inc. (YUM: chart) fell 2.6% amid growing concern about an outbreak of E. coli in some of its restaurants. Wachovia cut its rating on the company to Market Perform from Outperform. 3M Co. (MMM: chart) weighed, falling 2% after Prudential downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight, citing valuation. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ: chart) fell 0.5% after it agreed to pay $14.5 million to settle charges related to the spy scandal. At the same time, shares in Oracle Corp (ORCL: chart) gained 0.7% after late Thursday the company raised by 42% its bid for India''s i-Flex Solutions shares. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 13.05, or 0.11%, at 12,291.46. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 2.40, or 0.17%, at 1,409.69, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 4.97, or 0.20%, at 2,432.66.


9:30AM The FTSE 100 was lower on Friday due to weak mining stocks.
The FTSE 100 in London was fractionally lower 0.07% at 6,128 in afternoon trading.

Advancers

The newspaper and education publisher, Pearson, made steady gains on the back of reports that private equity bidders are circling the group. There was also some talk of interest in its French daily, Les Echos. Pearson was up 1.33%.

Imperial Chemical Industries was also higher 2.04% on reports of a possible tie-up with Holland''s Akzo Nobel following the sale of its Quest business.

Shares in Yoomedia surged 40% following news that it had agreed to provide some of its most popular games for BT new next-generation TV service, BT Vision.