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Tuesday December 8, 12:40 PM
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BSE Sensex rises 0.6 pct; Reliance leads
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex (^BSESN : 16026.49 -15.69
) was trading 0.6 percent higher on Tuesday, led by gains in Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS : 991.15 -2.1) and Tata Steel (TATASTL.BO : 540.2 +6.75
), but investors were wary of the near-term outlook.
"The market is waiting for the quarterly results or the advance tax figures for a definite direction," said Neeraj Dewan, director of Quantum Securities.
"It is going to be rangebound until then."
Energy major Reliance Industries rose 1.8 percent to 1,074.20 rupees after the Economic Times reported it was in talks with banks to raise $8-$10 billion for the acquisition of bankrupt chemical company LyondellBasell Industries.
"The positives are the timing and the valuation of the target company," said Prayesh Jain, an analyst with India Infoline.
"Since LyondellBasell has filed for bankruptcy, the assets would really be attractive picks in terms of price," said Jain, who is looking to upgrade his market performer rating on the stock in light of the current developments and some revival in petrochemical and refining cycles.
By 12:12 p.m. (0642 GMT), the 30-share BSE Index was trading up 0.6 percent at 17,084.29, shrugging off the weakness in Asian markets. Twenty-four of its components were trading in the green.
Tata Steel firmed 1.9 percent to 566.80 rupees, after the world's eighth largest steel maker said its domestic sales in November rose 34.5 percent to 498,000 tonnes.
Engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro (LT.NS : 1455.05 -6.8) rose 0.6 percent to 1,647.95 rupees after it won an order worth $180 million from Nuclear Power Corp of India.
Reliance Communications (RCOM.NS : 169.25 +1.1), India's second-largest mobile operator, was down 0.8 percent at 174.50 rupees, falling for a second day. The communications minister said on Monday the company under reported its revenue to the telecoms regulator during 2006/07 and 2007/08.
In the broader market, gainers were nearly double the number of losers on volume of 154 million shares.
The 50-share NSE (^NSEI : 4778.5 -14.15) index was up 0.7 percent at 5,103.05.
STOCKS ON THE MOVE
* 3i Infotech rose 5.2 percent to 89.45 rupees, after the Economic Times reported private equity firms Carlyle, Apax Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts were interested in buying ICICI (ICICIBANK.NS : 810.35 -2.05) Group's 27 percent stake in the IT firm.
* Rain Commodities, the world's largest calcined petroleum coke maker, rose as much as 19 percent to 208.35 rupees, after 6.3 million shares changed hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 176 rupees each.
MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME
* Suzlon Energy on 7.3 million shares
* Rain Commodities on 6.8 million shares
* IFCI on 2.8 million shares
(Reporting by Ami Shah; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)
(For more news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)
