[R]10:30AM The Sensex finishes higher boosted by small-caps and mid-caps.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 14.78 points or 0.1% higher at 13,616.73. The market breadth was extremely positive as out of 2,623 stocks traded, 1,658 advanced, 890 declined and 73 were unchanged today. For every three advancers, there were two decliners. From the Sensex stocks 16 declined while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4388 crore compared to Rs 4161 crore on Tuesday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8,083.89 crore lower than Rs 8,257.71 crore on Tuesday.

Economic news

The government yesterday issued second tranche of special bonds worth Rs 5,000 crore to oil marketing companies to help them offset losses due to high international crude prices.

Most active

Lanco Infrastructure was the most-active stock with a turnover of Rs 294.50 crore followed by Info Edge, Unitech, Action Constructions and Reliance Communications.

Advancers

Cement shares continued their recent move upwards on firm cement prices. ACC gained 3.6% to Rs 1,140, Gujarat Ambuja Cements advanced 2.3% to Rs 146.55 and Grasim gained 2% to Rs 2,770. Cigarette large-cap ITC advanced 2.5% to Rs 184.40.

Recently listed Lanco Infratech jumped 14% to Rs 267. The stock rose on huge volume of 1.1 crore shares on BSE.

Auto shares gained after the government today announced a cut of Rs 2 per litre in price of petrol and rupee one per litre in diesel. Bajaj Auto rose 1.1% to Rs 2,670, Tata Motors added 0.8% to Rs 817 and Maruti Udyog moved 0.6% higher to Rs 920.

Tyre shares rallied as natural rubber prices remained low. JK Industries gained nearly 5% to Rs 141.90, CEAT rose 4.4% to Rs 131.75, Apollo Tyres rose 4% to Rs 357 and MRF rose 2.7% to Rs 4612.

Torrent Power surged 20% to Rs 84.80. Distillation equipment maker Praj Industries gained 4% to Rs 195.20. BPO firm Tricom India soared 10% to Rs 123.60. On Monday, the company announced that it plans to build a new centre at Nashik with a recruitment of 400 freshers to its fold.

Decliners

Refinery shares declined on concerns that reduction in retail fuel prices would put further pressure on their marketing margins. HPCL shed 3.5% to Rs 291.50 and BPCL lost 1.7% to Rs 354.

Indian Oil Corporation dropped 4.7% to Rs 459.90 and Bongaigaon Refinery shed 5.5% to Rs 50.65. Indian Oil Corporation today recommended a swap ratio of four of its shares for every 37 shares held in Bongaigaon Refinery, for merger of Bongaigaon Refinery in Indian Oil Corporation.

Oil exploration large-cap ONCG shed 0.8% to Rs 859.80. ONGC has to sell crude at a discount to state-run refiners to help them reduce losses incurred due to state-set prices.

Bharti Airtel lost 1.3% to Rs 620 on profit taking. Communist Party of India said on Tuesday it was against the entry of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in India, a day after Bharti Enterprises, a Bharti Airtel group company announced a tie-up with the world biggest retailer on Tuesday.

ICICI Bank declined 0.8% to Rs 855 and Reliance Industries dropped 0.1% to Rs 1,249. Software large-cap Infosys shed 0.7% to Rs 2,151 in volatile trade. On Tuesday, Infosys ADR advanced nearly 1%.

Tata Steel dropped 0.04% to Rs 475.60 in volatile trade after Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group said on Wednesday its third-quarter earnings rose 63% on the back of higher steel prices.


[R]9:45AM Stocks opened higher on GDP data.[/R]
U.S. stocks opened in the green, boosted by 2.2% upward revision of Q3 economic growth which helped reverse a slide in the dollar and pushed market averages higher. The report was also an encouraging sign that the housing slump hasn''t been a heavy drag on the economy. The Dow was supported by Pfizer (PFE: chart) as the drugmaker rose 1.5% after news of its job cut plans in a major restructuring. The pharmaceutical sector moved higher, with AstraZeneca (AZN: chart) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK: chart) turning in two of the sector''s best performances, both trading at 3%. Boeing (BA: chart) also lent support to the blue-chip index, rising 0.3% after Prudential raised its price target on the stock to $99 from $94.