Sensex gains 63 points

Sensex extended its rally for the fifth straight day as buying continued. Metal and IT stocks were in demand.

The 30-share BSE Sensex settled 63.32 points higher at 13,937.65, a lifetime closing high. It came off the higher level after opening with an upward gap of 154.14 points at 14,028.47, which is also its all time high. Sensex touched an intra-day low of 13905.65

The S&P CNX Nifty also settled at lifetime closing high at 4015.35, up 14.35 points from its previous close. It had surged to an all time high of 4033.20

The market breadth stayed positive with 1307 shares advancing on BSE as compared to 1263 that declined. 68 shares were unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4743 crore as compared to Rs 4836 crore on Monday (4 December)

Among the Sensex pack, 18 declined while the rest advanced.

Tata Steel was the top gainer, up 5.60% to Rs 494.25 on 16.75 lakh shares. It moved in range of Rs 470.65- 494.90. The company said on Monday, it had signed an agreement with Nippon Yasen Kabushiki Kaisha to form a 50:50 shipping joint venture. The JV will cater to both dry and bulk cargo.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.50% to Rs 1279 on 9 lakh shares. The stock had opened with huge upward gap at Rs 1350, which is also its 52-week high. The company said on 1 December, that its hydrotreater plant at Jamnagar refinery, which was partially damaged in a fire on 25 October, has been refurbished and has started functioning. Also there are unconfirmed reports that it is set to acquire Adani Retail, the Gujarat based retail chain controlled by the Adani Group. The acquisition of Adani Retail will provide RIL with a readymade retail infrastructure and real estate to begin operations in Gujarat.

Reliance Communications (up 3.67% to Rs 459.10), L&T (up 2.61% to Rs 1459.10) and Infosys (up 1.39% to Rs 2236) were the other gainers.

Gujarat Ambuja was the top loser, down 1.66% to Rs 142 on 13.08 lakh shares. Its November 2006 cement despatches increased 9% to 1.31 million tonnes. The stock had hit a intra-day high of Rs 147.45

HDFC (down 1.48% to Rs 1600), Grasim (down 1.45% to Rs 2745) and HDFC Bank (down 1.41% to Rs 1085) were the other losers.

The Nikkei average lost 37.83 points or 0.23% to 16,265.76 while the Hang Seng advanced 241.46 points or 1.29% to 18,944.19

US stocks rose on Monday as a string of corporate takeovers and lower oil prices boosted optimism about the outlook for profits. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 89.72 points, or 0.74%, to 12,283.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 12.41 points, or 0.89%, to 1,409.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 35.18 points, or 1.46%, to 2,448.39. The S&P 500 soared to a six-year high during the session, while the Nasdaq recorded its biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly a month, snapping a two-session losing streak.

On 1 December 2006, FIIs were net buyers of stocks to the tune of Rs 349.30 crore (gross purchases worth Rs 1,872.30 crore and gross sales of Rs 1,523.10 crore) while domestic mutual funds were net buyers of stocks to the tune of Rs 304.33 crore (gross purchases worth Rs 666.34 crore and gross sales of Rs 362.01 crore).