Inching higher...

Markets have gained further strength in the previous hour of trade as investors continue their value buying activity at the current corrected levels. Apart from the strength in index heavyweights, auto, commodities, energy, pharma and software stocks are driving the markets today. Banking stocks, however, are witnessing a mixed trend.

The BSE Sensex is trading at 6,533 (up 40 points) and the NSE Nifty is trading at 2,043 (up 7 points). The rupee is trading at 43.56 to the dollar.

HCL (HCLL.BO, news) Technologies has signed an agreement with JDA Software to become the prime implementer for the latter's solutions in India and for the Asia-Pacific region. The agreement will translate into JDA installing its products at the HCL Centre of Excellence, where JDA will provide the software, training, material, e-learning access and support while HCL Technologies will provide the hardware training. The stock is trading higher by 1%. Among the other software stocks, i-flex (2%), MphasiS (2%) and Satyam (1%) are witnessing a firm trend. Industry majors Infosys, TCS and Wipro (WIPRd.BO, news) are, however, down 1% each on profit booking after big gains yesterday.

As per a leading business daily, Indian Hotels is set to acquire a hotel in New York. Management has indicated that this hotel belongs to the Four Seasons Group, a major hotel chain in the US. The Taj Group of hotels, owned by Indian Hotels, is focusing on expanding its global footprint, having set up hotels in Seychelles, Mauritius and other countries. The company has also entered the budget hotels segment with its IndiOne brand. In related news, the Taj Group of hotels is setting up 10 budget hotels across key destinations in the country, to come up in 2005-06. The venture, named as 'smart basic hotels', is operated under Roots Corporation, a fully owned subsidiary of Indian Hotels. The company has been encouraged by the success of its venture in Bangalore. IndiOne Bangalore has achieved an average occupancy of over 85%. Going forward, the budget hotels business is expected to contribute significantly to revenues. The stock is trading higher by 1%.

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