RIL leads 122-points Sensex rally

The domestic bourses saw a relief rally today posting decent gains and snapping losses of the last two trading sessions. The BSE Sensex rose 122.21 points. The barometer index had lost 472.01 points in last two trading sessions. The market breadth was positive. Sterlite Industries rose more than 8% on canceling a restructuring plan. Metal stocks rose. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged higher

US stock futures rose boosted by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway's announcment of an infusion of $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group. Goldman will sell $5 billion of preferred stock to Berkshire Hathaway, which will also receive warrants to purchase $5 billion of common stock with a strike price of $115 per share. Berkshire has five years to exercise the warrants. The Dow futures were up 83 points and the Nasdaq futures were up 14 points.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX and UK’s FTSE 100 were up by between 0.11% to 0.17%. Most of the Asian markets were trading higher today, 24 September 2008. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea were up by between 0.2% to 0.99%.

Meanwhile, a US-India civilian nuclear cooperation agreement moved closer to approval by Congress on Tuesday, 23 September 2008, when a key Senate Committee passed the deal with a landslide majority. However, the historic agreement is yet to clear a few hurdles in its final lap. The bill now goes to the floor of the Senate for the final ratification.

The BSE 30-share Sensex ended up 122.21 points or 0.9% to 13,692.52. The Sensex rose 270.50 points at day’s high of 13,840.81, hit in early afternoon trade. The index rose 22.48 points at the day's low of 13,592.79, hit in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 34.35 points or 0.83% to 4,161.25. Nifty September 2008 futures were at 4182.25, at a premium of 21 points as compared to spot closing of 4161.25.

The BSE Sensex is down 6594.47 points or 32.5% in the calendar year 2008 so far from its close of 20,286.99 on 31 December 2007. It is 7514.25 points or 35.43% below its all-time high of 21,206.77 struck on 10 January 2008.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4,304 crore today, 24 September 2008 as compared to a turnover of Rs 4,336.47 crore on 23 September 2008.

NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 67,051.71 crore, which was lower than Rs 68,368.66 crore on Tuesday, 23 September 2008. The September 2008 derivatives will expire tomorrow, 25 September 2008.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.26% at 5,126.78 and the BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.14% at 6,101.51.

BSE Metal index (up 2.19% to 10,142.29), BSE Oil & Gas index (up 1.22% to 9,435.85), BSE Bankex (up 1.21% to 6,886.65), BSE Power index (up 1.1% to 2,473.39), BSE Capital Goods index (up 1.09% to 11,340.80) outperformed the Sensex.

BSE Consumer Durables index (down 1.23% to 3,166.84), BSE IT index (down 1.1% to 3,417.11), BSE Teck index (down 0.15% to 2,759.62), BSE Auto index was flat at 3,849.27, BSE HealthCare index (up 0.13% to 3,876.11), BSE Realty index (up 0.34% to 3,916.98), BSE FMCG index (up 0.35% to 2,189.68) and BSE PSU index (up 0.59% to 6,568.37) underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was positive on BSE with 1349 shares advancing as compared to 1241 that declined. 89 shares remained unchanged.

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 1.89% to Rs 2,047.60.

India’s largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors declined 1.55% to Rs 387.95. It came off from the session’s high of Rs 401.85.

India's biggest power generation firm by revenue, NTPC, declined 0.7% to Rs 178.60.

India’s largest dedicated housing finance firm by operating income HDFC declined 0.82% to Rs 2,180.10. It came off from the session’s high of Rs 2,258.20.

India’s largest drug maker by sales Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 0.63% to Rs 310.80. It came off from session’s high of Rs 318. Japan's third-largest drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo said on Wednesday, 24 September 2008, its open offer to buy up to 20% stake in generic drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories was oversubscribed. Investors had tendered more than 92.5 million Ranbaxy shares between in the open offer, Daiichi Sankyo said.

In June 2008, Daiichi Sankyo had agreed to buy the 34.8% held by Ranbaxy's founding family, and to make an open offer for a further 20% of Ranbaxy shares, as per Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) takeover regulations.

IT stocks recovered from lower levels. But majority of them ended in the red. Wipro (down 5.05% to Rs 370.75), Infosys (down 1.27% to Rs 1,523.70) and Tata Consultancy Services (down 1.01% to Rs 713.45) edged lower. India’s third largest IT exporter by sales Satyam Computer Services rose 0.68% to Rs 333.90.

Metal stocks rose. National Aluminum Company (up 5.79% to Rs 419.35), Tata Steel (up 3.13% to Rs 485.70), Hindalco Industries (up 0.69% to Rs 108.85), Steel Authority of India (up 0.11% to Rs 142.25) and edged higher.

Sterlite Industries (India) surged 8.36% to Rs 487.55 after the company dropped a restructuring plan. The stock came off from session's high of Rs 517.70. From a recent high of Rs 622.35 on 8 September 2008, the stock had tumbled 27.7% to Rs 449.95 on 23 September 2008 after parent Vedanta Resources said it will transfer Sterlite's aluminium and energy businesses to Madras Aluminium Company as part of restructuring. The restructuring of the Vedanta group was planned to result in three units focused on commodities produced by the group: copper, zinc and lead; aluminium and energy; and iron ore.

India’s largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro rose 0.85% to Rs 2,553.70 after the company said it has bagged several large value orders aggregating Rs 5000 crore for the construction of a slew of institutional, commercial, residential and factory buildings.

HDFC Bank (up 3.57% to Rs 1,281.85), Tata Steel (up 3.13% to Rs 485.70), Reliance Infrastructure (up 2.92% to Rs 889.10), Grasim Industries (up 2.35% to Rs 1,935.20), Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 2.29% to Rs 1,663.30), Bharti Airtel (up 2.03% to Rs 810.40) edged higher from the Sensex pack.

Sesa Goa clocked the highest volume of 96.1 lakh shares on BSE. Reliance Natural Resources (87.33 lakh shares), Jaiprakash Associates (75.19 lakh shares), Cals Refineries (63.13 lakh shares) and Austral Coke & Projects (60.67 lakh shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Reliance Capital clocked the highest turnover of Rs 259.22 crore on BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 229.66 crore), Austral Coke & Projects (Rs 149.21 crore), Sterlite Industries (Rs 148.14 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 134.50 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

US stocks fell on Tuesday, 23 September 2008, on fear that congressional wrangling could delay a proposed $700 billion plan to rescue the financial sector, increasing worries about the struggling US economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 161.52 points, or 1.47%, to end at 10,854.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 18.87 points, or 1.56%, to 1,188.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 25.64 points, or 1.18%, to 2,153.34.