10:30 AM The Sensex touches the 13, 000 level, spurred by earnings expectations.
The Sensex on BSE finished 191.76 points, or 1.5% higher, to close at 12,928.18. The market-breadth wa negative though with 1,090 shares that advanced, 1,436 that declined and 55 shares which remained unchanged. The decliners outpaced advancers by 4:3. From the 30-issue Sensex, 22 advanced, while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,479.74 crore, lower than Rs 4,071 crore on Friday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 7,438.48 crore.

Economic news

India should work to become the second or third largest partner for EU from the present position of being 10th largest partner and should contribute to at least 5% of total EU trade by 2011, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Indian rupee continued its climb and closed at a five-month high against the US dollar. The Indian currency changed course and gained as large dollar inflows poured into the market.

Most active

Reliance Industries was the most-active stock on BSE. Reliance Industries was the most active stock on BSE today, followed by Infosys and Hindustan Zinc.

Advancers

HDFC Bank led the advancers today. It gained 5.39% to Rs 1,042, Hindalco advanced 4% to Rs 182.20, ICICI Bank moved up 1.03% to Rs 720, TCS jumped up 2.73% to Rs 1,134.90 and ITC rose 2.72% to Rs 194.15. HDFC Bank stock hit Rs 1,068, an all-time high for the stock. ICICI Bank surged as it declares second-quarter results on 24 October 2006.

Index heavy Reliance Industries jumped 1.8% to Rs 1,212. The stock hit Rs 1,218.75, an all-time high for the stock. It announces second-quarter results on 19 October 2006.

TCS gained nearly 3% to Rs 1,134.65 ahead of its second-quarter results today. The stock declined from a high of Rs 1,148. analysts have forecast between 5.2 - 10.7% sequential growth in TCS net profit as per US GAAP, to between Rs 907.70 crore - Rs 954.60 crore.

Software large-cap Infosys Technologies, ended 0.4% higher to Rs 2,097, but trimmed gains. The stock declined from the session high of Rs 2,143.90. Wipro rose 2.4% to Rs 571 and Satyam Computer gained 2.6% to Rs 438.

Cellular services large-cap Bharti Airtel gained nearly 2% to Rs 487.10. Hindustan Zinc rose almost 4% to Rs 745, after the company said it had raised zinc price by Rs 1,800 per tonne (0.91%), to Rs 1,97,800 a tonne.

Other advancers included copper and aluminium company Hindalco Industries which jumped 4% to Rs 182.35. Engineering & construction large-cap L&T advanced nearly 3% to Rs 1,304. L&T announces second-quarter results on 19 October 2006. Oil exploration large-cap ONGC rose 1.8% to Rs 1,175.

Decliners

UltraTech Cement shed nearly 3% to Rs 879, as its second-quarter net profit missed market expectations.

Auto and refinery stocks declined due to the rise in oil prices. M&M shed 0.7% to Rs 691, TVS Motor lost 1.3% to Rs 120.55, Hero Honda shed 0.5% to Rs 745, Tata Motors lost 0.5% to Rs 906, and Bajaj Auto edged down 0.1% to Rs 3,115.

Indian Oil Corporation lost 2.2% to Rs 546, HPCL shed 2.2% to Rs 310.85 and BPCL sank 0.4% to Rs 403.


9:45AM Stock markets opened lower ahead of earnings. Intel moved higher.
Stocks markets started trading below the unchanged mark before a new batch of earnings reports, expected to give some clarity how companies are coping with a slowing economy. The Dow moved to the downside in early trading, dragged by several downgrades. General Electric (GE: chart) shares fell 1.2% after Merrill Lynch downgraded the diversified industrial group to neutral from buy, saying the stock at $36 a share was trading at its historic multiple to the broader market. Another Dow component, Home Depot Inc. (HD: chart) fell 1.3% after Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the home improvement retailer to neutral from buy, citing recent management departures. The same broker upgraded rival Lowe\''s Cos. (LOW: chart) to a buy, sending company’s shares up 0.8%. However, shares of chip maker Intel (INTC: chart) advanced 2%, providing support to technology shares. Some strength emerged in the disk drive sector, with SanDisk (SNDK: chart) jumping 5.2% and Msystems (FLSH: chart), rising 4.7%. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 9.53, or 0.08%. The Standard & Poor\''s 500 index declined 0.45, or 0.03%, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.23, or 0.09%. Bonds declined, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.86 percent from 4.80 percent on Friday