Grasim was the only decliner in the Sensex stocks. Its shares dipped 1.2% to Rs 2,081. Reportedly, cement makers have declined a request by the government to cut prices. A meeting was held today between the finance minister and cement makers,


8:00AM European markets were higher on Thursday on bid talk.
European markets were higher on Thursday. By midday, Frankfurt Xetra Dax rose 1.7% to 6,826.46, the CAC 40 added 1.4% to 5,576.27 and London FTSE 100 climbed 0.8% to 6,303.9.

Advancers

ING gained 2.4%, as the news that a cross-border deal in the financial services sector was in progress helped underpin broader gains for European equities. The news came as Barclays of the UK continued merger talks with Dutch peer ABN Amro. Although there were still no financial details, Barclays moved 2% higher and ABN gained 0.7%.

Eiffage added a further 13% to the previous session 7% gain. Sacyr Vallehermoso of Spain may sell its stake in oil company Repsol to help fund a purchase of Eiffage, in which it already owns 32.6%. In the other scenario, French rival Vinci might fend off approaches. Shares in Sacyr gained 1.7 %, while Vinci edged 0.2% higher.

In the banking sector, shares in Unicredit, the Italian bank, gained 1.9% after it reported a forecast-beating 61% rise in full-year net profit. Broker comment supported Dutch group Aegon, up 2.7%, France Axa, 3.5% stronger, Allianz of Germany, 3% higher and Zurich Financial, up 1.5%.

Decliners

Health-care companies were underperforming. Shares in AstraZeneca slipped 0.7%, while GlaxoSmithKline was almost flat, up 0.1%. Alcatel-Lucent shares lost 0.3%. The company was downgraded to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs

Oil and gold

Oil advanced for a third day in New York on signs of increasing demand from U.S. refineries. Crude oil for May delivery rose as much as $1.20, or 2%, to $60.81 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May settlement rose as much as $1.28, or 2.1 %, to $62.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the ICE Futures exchange.

Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $664.25 an ounce in early trade in London. Silver gained 5 cents to $13.375 an ounce. Platinum rose $3 to $1,236.50 and palladium was unchanged at $353.50.

Currencies

The dollar rebounded from a two- year low versus the euro before speeches by Federal Reserve officials today. The dollar traded $1.3359 against the euro in early trade in London, rebounding from $1.3385 late yesterday in New York. The U.S. currency was at 117.60 yen, from 117.54. Against the dollar, the British pound was at $1.9710 in early trade in London, from $1.9678 late yesterday.