Markets continued the rally from the last 2 days today as well despite a weak closing by the US markets yesterday and subdued trend across most Asian markets today.

The indices opened firm and posted new lifetime highs in early trades before giving up part of their gains by noon. By early afternoon, both indices had dipped close to yesterday's closing levels.

Afternoon saw a recovery and the indices re-tested their morning highs by the last half hour of trade. The Sensex scaled a new peak but the Nifty could not cross the highs recorded in morning trades. Both indices managed to close at new lifetime closing highs.

The Sensex posted a new lifetime intra-day high of 10238 while the Nifty saw a new high of 3056.

Nalco was the best performer among index stocks today, closing with gains of nearly 5 per cent.

Pharma stocks Ranbaxy and Cipla had a good day. Ranbaxy added more than 3 per cent despite reports of a negative legal ruling in Europe while Cipla gained close to 3 per cent.

HDFC revved up after remaining subdued for many sessions and closed with gains in excess of 3 per cent.

Some of the engineering stocks continued the up trend from yesterday. BHEL added over 2 per cent while ABB closed 1.5 per cent higher.

Tata Power, Tata Steel and HPCL were the other major gainers among index stocks.

Dr. Reddy's corrected after the strong gains of recent sessions. The stock lost over 2.5 per cent and was the biggest loser among index stocks.

L&T also closed lower by nearly 1.5 per cent on profit booking.
IPCL, M&M, Tata Tea and Gujarat Ambuja Cement were the other major losers among index stocks.

Sensex closed at 10224, a gain of 56 points, and the Nifty closed higher by 16 points at 3051. Nifty February futures closed at a premium of 5points to the spot index while March futures closed at a discount of 3 points.

US markets opened the week yesterday on a losing note after remaining firm for most of last week. The rise in crude oil prices over the last few days and concerns of further interest rate hikes by the Fed led to the decline.

The Dow lost 0.4 per cent while the S&P 500 ended one-third of a per cent lower. The NASDAQ index lost nearly a per cent after stocks of semiconductor manufacturer came under pressure.

Asian markets had a generally weak day today. The Japanese Nikkei declined after yesterday's strong rally. South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and Shanghai were the other losers. Hong Kong closed on a flat note once again.

Crude prices continued to rally yesterday on concerns of supply disruption in Nigeria and short covering after the recent sharp fall. April futures on the NYMEX closed at $62.74 per barrel yesterday. The commodity is trading nearly a per cent lower in early European trades today.

According to the Pfizer website, a Finnish court has passed an order preventing Ranbaxy from selling a generic version of Pfizer's best seller Lipitor. Ranbaxy has not responded to the news.

There are unconfirmed reports that ONGC has joined hands with a Russian company to bid for a large oil asset in Russia. The reports suggest that ONGC would take a stake of 49 per cent while the Russian company would hold the rest.

The $300 million bond issue of NTPC is attracting good interest from international investors. The bonds have a maturity period of 10 years and are being issued to fund the company's capital investment plans.

Media reports quoting the Tata Tea management mentions that the company is planning a project in China. Further details are not available.

Indian Oil may not sell its cross-holdings in ONGC and Gail during this financial year. The proceeds from the sale were supposed to finance the company's investment plans.

Gail said it has decided to terminate natural gas supplies to IPCL after the latter failed to respond to the company's requests to renew the existing agreement. Meanwhile, IPCL has reportedly approached the government against the action of Gail.

Canara Bank is planning to raise up to Rs425 crore, including the retention of oversubscription, from a bond issue. The bonds would have a maturity period of 110 months and would carry an interest rate of 8.15 per cent.

Mid-Cap Action

Mid-caps were considerably more subdued today when compared to the frontline stocks. After trading with modest gains in morning trades, the mid-cap index slipped into the red early in the afternoon. The index recovered towards close and ended with marginal gains. The CNX Mid-Cap index gained 6 points to end the day at 4346.

Cyber Media has acquired a 20 per cent in a US based publisher of technology magazines. The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Ingersoll Rand of the US has announced the open offer price for buying out the minority shareholders of Ingersoll Rand India. The US company would pay Rs344.95 per share to acquire the 26 per cent stake held by minority shareholders and de-list the stock from the exchanges.

Indian Overseas Bank is considering a bond issue to raise Rs300 crore in Tier II capital. The bank's board is meeting this week to consider the proposal.

Assam Company has commenced commercial delivery of crude oil from its oil field in Assam to Indian Oil.

Commodity exchange MCX has signed an agreement with New York Board for Trade to explore areas for mutual cooperation. MCX is a subsidiary of Financial Technologies.

Media Video has raised Rs80.6 crore from a preferential issue of convertible warrants to strategic investors.

Shreyas Shipping has raised $8 million from a GDR issue. The GDR's would be listed on the Luxembourg exchange. Fidelity has invested $7 million in the issue.

UTV would invest Rs24 crore to set up a new digital animation studio in Mumbai. The studio would house around 225 artists and technicians.

Rain Calcining surged before noon and was locked in the 20 per cent upper circuit on market rumours that the company is acquiring a US based firm. The stock came down from its highs after the company refused to confirm the news.

Tea plantation stocks continued to correct today as well. Most of the stocks in the sector like Harrison Malayalam, Jayshree Tea, McLeod Russel and Williamson Tea ended with considerable losses.

Jagran Prakashan got listed on the exchanges today. Issued at Rs320, the stock opened at Rs361 on the NSE and saw a high of Rs392. The stock lost substantial ground thereafter and closed at Rs270.5, a discount of more than 15 per cent to the issue price.

Rain Calcining, Coromandel Fertilisers and Mercator Lines were among the significant mid-cap gainers on the NSE.

California Software, Winsome Yarn and Royal Orchid were among the significant mid-cap losers on the NSE.

*Disclaimer:The author may have positions in some of the stocks specifically mentioned above at the time of writing this article. This analysis / report is only for the purpose of information and is not an investment advice. Readers are advised to consult a certified financial advisor before taking any investment decisions. While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in the content the author or publisher shall not be held responsible for any loss caused to any person whatsoever.

Market: Indices
National Markets
Gain (+) / Loss (-)