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Market up 418 points on Asian markets rally

Fresh plus positions were said to be taken in all index pivotlas. Gains were more pronounced in the afternoon trade extending early gains as Asian stocks rose with sentiment boosted by Microsoft Corp's bid for Yahoo Inc and following China's buy of a large stake in takeover target Rio Tinto. However, the trade turned volatile in mid-afternoon trade and pared some gains as two index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank eased from their intra-day's highs.

The market breadth was strong. 26 from the 30-member sensex pack were in the green. In the A group of specifieds at the BSE, 197 advanced while 20 declined and 1 issue remained unchanged.

The 30-share BSE Sensitive Index (sensex) was up 417.74 points or 2.29 per cent finishing the day at 18,660.32. It opened with a positive gap of 253.45 points at 18,496.03 and surged to hit an intra-day high of 18,895.34 in afternoon trade. At day's high it gained 652.76 points. The intra-day low was 18,447.25 in mid-afternoon trade, still higher than previous closing. The broader CNX S&P Nifty was up 146.25 points or 2.75% at 5,463.50. Nifty February 2008 futures were at 5478, a premium of 14.50 points as compared to spot closing.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 3.14 per cent to 8,004.91, while the BSE Small-Cap was up 2.87 per cent at 10,361.78 at closing. The market breadth was strong on BSE: 2274 shares advanced while 533 declined and 37 stocks remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs57.43 billion as compared to Rs55.79 billion on Friday. The total turnover on NSE's futures & options segment amounted to Rs401.69 billion as compared to Rs358.31 billion on Friday.

Ispat Industries led the volume chart with trades of around 18.7 million shares followed Reliance Natural Resources (14.9 million shares), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (9.7 million shares), Reliance Petroleum (9.2 million shares) and IFCI (8.6 million shares).

All sectoral indices on BSE settled higher. Sensex outperformers were: BSE Metal index (up 3.32 per cent to 16,438.19), BSE IT index (up 4.15 per cent at 4,097.61), BSE TecK index (up 4.48 per cent to 3,573.55), BSE Oil & Gas index (up 2.45 per cent at 11,293.36), BSE Power (up 2.58 per cent to 3,890.57), BSE Realty index (up 6.53 per cent at 10,513.46), and BSE PSU index (up 3.36 per cent to 8,658.29). Sensex under-performering sectors were: BSE Auto (up 2.05 per cent at 5,107.70), BSE FMCG index (up 0.87 per cent at 2,244.44), BSE Consumer Durables index (up 0.67 per cent to 5,155.67), BSE Health Care index (up 1.77 per cent at 3,707.06), BSE Bankex (up 2.03 per cent at 11,110.91), and BSE Capital Goods index (up 2.21 per cent at 16,797.31).

Reliance Communications stole the day's limelight and galloped 13.01 per cent to Rs691.40 on a business of 3.52 million shares. It was the top gainer from sensex pack. Reliance Infratel, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications has filed its draft red herring prospectus for an initial public offer (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The company will offer 8,91,64,100 shares of Rs5 each for cash, constituting 10.05 per cent of its post-issue paid-up equity capital.

Reliance Industries rose 2.22 per cent to Rs2598.20 on a business of 693,000 shares at the BSE. The stock moved in a range of Rs2562 and Rs2643 during the day.

Future Capital Holdings was the most active counter on BSE with a turnover of Rs5.33 billion followed by Reliance Communication (Rs2.35 bn), Reliance Natural Resources (Rs2.15 bn.), Reliance Energy (Rs2.02 bn.) and Reliance Industries (Rs1.81 bn.).

ONGC saw high volatility yesterday. It slipped sharply from dayís high of Rs1121.90 to yesterday's low of Rs1032. It settled 1.87 per cent higher at Rs1064. As per reports, British oil major British Gas is all set to pick up a 30 per cent stake in ONGCís Krishna Godawari basin block and 25 per cent in Mahanadi basin block.

Maruti Suzuki India slipped 1.30 per cent to Rs893. It was the top loser from sensex pack. The stock slipped from dayís high of Rs924.90. The company has raised prices of many of its models by Rs1,000 to Rs11,000 per unit.

Reliance Energy (down 0.69 per cent to Rs2001), ITC (down 0.17 per cent to Rs2040.50), and HDFC Bank (down 1.03 per cent to Rs1551.10) were the other losers from the sensex pack.