Satyam Computers led the advancers, rising 5.96% to Rs 480.25, on 17.43 lakh shares. The stock traded in a broad range of Rs 482 – 455.05. Reliance Energy gained 3.50% to Rs 551. There are reports that subsidiary, Reliance Energy Transmission, had bid for establishing transmission lines for the Western Region System Strengthenin scheme by Power Grid Corporation of India. The financial bids were opened on 20 November 2006, and are currently under scrutiny.

Bharti Airtel firmed 2.32% to Rs 638 and Reliance Communications added 3.43% to Rs 430.15 for the second successive day on reports that the government will free up more frequencies for cellular telephony. Both had set new records earlier in the day.

Index heavy Reliance Industries advanced 0.39% to Rs 1,277.60, on a volume of 6.22 lakh shares. It traded between Rs 1,273- Rs 1,290. ICICI Bank gained 1.04% to Rs 880.40, due to reports that it will raise funds overseas to finance lending growth. State-run oil explorer ONGC advanced 1.40% to Rs 857, after global crude oil prices stabilized around $60 a barrel.

Leading zinc maker Hindustan Zinc surged 7.13% to Rs 932, supported by a rise in zinc prices on the LME, for the second day in a row. Zinc for delivery in three months closed at $4,295 a tonne, up 3% or $126 from the previous session.


ICI India soared 7.55% to Rs 374, on the assumption that it will make huge capital gains by disposing off subsidiary, Quest International. ICI India has decided to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary, Quest International India, to Givaudan of Switzerland.

Shares of textile firm Birla VXL surged 10% to Rs 53.10, for the second straight day, on hopes that the impending rights issue may be another step towards a possible turnaround.

Union Bank of India rose 1.2% to Rs 135 after allying with IL&FS for rendering services to foreign funds in India.

Decliners

HDFC Bank led the decliners, slipping 1.29% to Rs 1,077.10, on 1.39 lakh shares. Infosys sank 1.28% to Rs 2,223, as its ADR lost 3.3% on Tuesday, to close at $53.44.

Tata Steel dipped 0.84% to Rs 471.45. It announced on Wednesday it has signed a joint venture agreement with Tata Power Company for captive power plants in three states.

State-run oil refiners and marketing firms declined after crude oil touched $60 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest in two weeks. Indian Oil Corporation lost 2% to Rs 503.10, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation shed 3.03% to Rs 315, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation sagged 2.23% to Rs 371.25.

i-flex Solutions dropped 2.4% to Rs 1,550, after Oracle announced a revised schedule for the open offer, agreeing to pay interest for the period of delay.


[R]9:45AM Market opened slightly higher, led by tech stocks.[/R]
U.S. stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday as strong Q3 earnings from Dell gave an early boost to tech stocks. Dell (DELL: chart) climbed 10% on better-than-expected profit rise of 12% in Q3. Dell beat market expectations thanks to strong laptop sales, a promising sign ahead of one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Brocade (BRCD: chart) jumped 8% after it reported Q4 net income of 7 cents a share compared with breakeven in the year-earlier period. J Crew Group (JCG: chart) rose 5% as Q3 earnings rose to $26 million from $3 million in the year-earlier period, helped by 23% revenue increase and comparable-store-sales growth of 19%. Alcoa (AA: chart) gained 2% after the world''s biggest aluminum company unveiled a broad restructuring that will cut 5% of its workforce.


[R]9:30AM The FTSE 100 in London advanced in early trade on rally in ICI.[/R]
By mid-day, the FTSE 100 in London gained 9 points to 6,211.9.

Advancers

ICI led the advancers, gaining 9%, after it announced the sale of Quest, its flavours and fragrance business, to Givaudan of Switzerland for 1.2 billion pounds.

Miners were strong in early trading on the back of firm metal prices.Vedanta Resources rose 3.6% and Xstrata gained 2.2%. BHP Billiton was 2.5% stronger on speculation it could bid for US mine operator Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold.