Market gives up gains but still in green

The markets opened firm in the morning as buying was seen among index pivotals. Also the Sensex crossed the psychological 13,000 level, which technical analysts feel is a strong resistance.But the markets retreated later giving up some of the gains.But the markets are still trading in green.

At 11.45 pm when the trading is halted temporarily due to sun outage till 12.30 pm, the sensex was trading 53 points up at 12596.The Nifty 50 index was up 20 points at 3755.

Cement stocks rebounded from their lower levels, as buying resumed. ACC was the top gainer, up 2.82% to Rs 769.80, on a volume of 5.62 lakh shares. Gujarat Ambuja Cements (up 1.90% to Rs 107.20) and Grasim (down 1.53% to Rs 2045) also advanced.

Market ends with marginal gains

The market slipped into the red by mid-afternoon as index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies and ICICI Bank pared gains. Selling was, however, conspicuous in cement shares.Cement shares flopped for the second day in a row.The sensex ended 17 points up at 12903,while Nifty ended 16 points up at 3735.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements dropped 5% to Rs 104.35, ACC lost 4% to Rs 747 and Grasim shed 2.6% to Rs 2015.Cigarette major ITC dropped nearly 4% to Rs 148.50.Reliance Industries ended flat at Rs 1318. The stock came off the session’s high of Rs 1334.50. As per reports, the company had made two more gas discoveries off the country's east coast. The discoveries were made in gas-rich KG DG block in the Krishna-Godavari basin, and in NEC 25 block of the Mahanadi basin.

Software bellwether Infosys shed 0.4% to Rs 2114, whereas IT major TCS rose 2.3% to Rs 1240. Wipro had gained 1.8% to Rs 575.ICICI Bank was up 2% to Rs 877. ICICI Bank has no plans for a stock-split, Chief Executive Officer KV Kamath said on Monday responding to market speculation.

Mutual funds are sitting on cash, thanks to collections from some of the recent new fund offers, and may step up purchases at declines. However, the latest data shows that mutual funds are in selling mode. They were net sellers to the tune of Rs 40 crore on Thursday (8 March 2007), the day when the Sensex had surged 470 points. They had pressed sales worth a net Rs 379.56 crore on Wednesday (7 March 2007), the day when the Sensex had lost 177 points in volatile trade.

Sensex slackens on infirmity in cement scrips

The market was sharply off the higher level in mid-afternoon trade. Cement shares lost further ground, while IT shares and select telecom stocks held firm.At 15.40 pm the sensex is trading just 17 points up at 12902,while Nifty is barely 7 points up at 3725.

Market firm after halt due to sun outage

The market was firm in morning trade. Cement shares pared gains with Gujarat Ambuja Cements slipping into the red. IT and auto pivotals, construction and real esate firms nudged higher.

At 12.35 pm the sensex was up 138 points at 13024,while Nifty was up 52 points at 3770.
Telecom shares edged higher. Bharti Airtel gained 3.3% to Rs 775. Newly listed Idea Cellular rose nearly 3% to Rs 88.05.But Reliance Communications dropped 1.4% to Rs 416.80.Recently-listed Mindtree Solutions was the top-traded counter on BSE with a total turnover of Rs 57.22 crore. The Mindtree Solutions stock was up 2.80% to Rs 670, on a volume of 8.55 lakh shares.

The top gainers on the sensex and the nifty were Bharti Airtel,Wipro ,TCS.While the top losers were ITC,Gujarat Ambuja Cements and Reliance Comm.

Markets slip further

The markets have lost further,due to heavy selling across many sectors.FMCG,cement and auto sectors were the foremost to lose.The markets are volatile ,with wild swings making an odd appearance here and there.At 14.55 pm the Sensex is down 235 points at 12814,while Nifty is trading 70 points down at 3691.

Three cement pivotals ACC, Grasim and Gujarat Ambuja Cements were down between 2.4 - 6.4% after the manufacturers agreed not to raise prices for one year, today onwards.
The decision was announced by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath after a meeting with the cement industry on Friday (9 March 2007). Nath also said that cement makers have committed to absorb all input costs and levies

Market dips below 13,000 on inflation data

The markets opened on a positive note today in the morning,but slipped into red as the selling began.Right now the markets are extremely volatile.The Sensex extended its losses after re-opening from a halt due to sun outage. Inflation data, which missed street estimates, weighed on the sentiment. At 1.00 pm the Sensex is down 94.54 points at 12955,while Nifty is down 41 points at 3720.

Annual inflation for the week ended 30 December 2006 was revised to 5.89% from 5.58%. It stood at 4.18% in the corresponding week a year ago.

Idea Cellular commands modest premium after debut.Idea Cellular was trading at Rs 85.05 in early trade on NSE, a premium of 13.4% over the IPO price of Rs 75.The stock debuted at Rs 85, hit a low of Rs 84.40 and also a high of Rs 92.

The top gainers on the sensex were NTPC,Tata Steel and the top losers were Bhel ,Guajarat ambuja,ACC and Tata Motors. HPCL,Oriental Bank,Tata Steel,Sun Pharma were the top gainers on the Nifty and Bhel ,Gail,Mtnl,ACC were the top losers.

Sensex pierces 13,000 mark

The Sensex surged over 500 points by late trading, and crossed the psychological 13,000 level in what was the biggest single-day rise in points in months. Strong Asian markets triggered the rebound on the domestic bourses, which had seen a huge value erosion over the past few days.

The Sensex closed at 13,099.83, with a gain of 520.08 points,while Nifty closed at 3762 with a gain of 135 points.PSU power equipment major Bhel surged 7% to Rs 2165, Gujarat Ambuja Cements gained 8% to Rs 112.65, HDFC Bank vaulted 7.7% to Rs 987, Ranbaxy surged 6.9% to Rs 331, Dr Reddy’s Lab rose 6.4% to Rs 675, Grasim advanced 6.9% to Rs 2250 and L&T rose 5% to Rs 1527.

Telecom shares rose for the second day in a row on the eve of the listing of Idea Cellular on Friday (9 March 2007). Reliance Communications surged 5.8% to Rs 434.90, and Bharti Airtel gained 5.8% to Rs 764. Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 3.6% to Rs 1336.85, and IPCL jumped 11.8% to Rs 259.

FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 749 crore in index-based futures on Wednesday. They were net buyers to the tune of Rs 335 crore in individual stock futures on the same day.

Markets rallying in the afternoon trade

Bulls seems to be in full swing as heavy buying was witnessed across the sectors.The Sensex had surged over 300 points, with big contribution from pivotals.At 14.30 pm the sensex was up 346 points at 12926 while Nifty was up 111 points at 3738.

Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 2.6% to Rs 1323, and IPCL jumped 16% to Rs 268.70.
HLL,Dr Reddys Lab,Grasim and Guajrat Ambuja Cements were the top gainers on the sensex, while IPCL,Sail,HLL and Gujarat Ambuja Cements were the top gainers on the Nifty. Dabur was the top loser on the Nifty.

Markets climbing higher

The markets opened firm today in the morning tracking the recovery in Asian markets.The markets were closed for a brief period of time due to sun outage. After re opening at 12.50 pm the sensex is trading 280 points up at 12860,while Nifty is 87 points up at 3714.

The most talked about news today is the Reliance IPCL merger.IPCL advanced 6.58% to Rs 246.90, after Reliance Industries said its board will meet on 10 March 2007 to consider a proposal for merging subsidiary IPCL with the company. Much talk is there regarding the swap ratio of RIL-IPCL.Also the argument if the IPCL shareholders will benefit from this merger or not.Here are some interesting articles about the news of the day of RIL-IPCL merger.

RIL to fold in IPCL to bolster net worth.The move is aimed at strengthening RIL’s balance sheet at a time when the company is seeking to raise funds.Swap ratio of between five and six shares of IPCL for every share of RIL. (Source:livemint)

No positive sentiments for IPCL shareholders.The article says given the ratio of promotors' holding in RIL and IPCL, the merger may not be in favour of IPCL shareholders.Swap ratio of two shares of Reliance Industries for every eleven shares of IPCL.(Source:Moneycontrol)

IPCL merger with Reliance Industries likely to add more than Rs 11,000 crore to RIL's balance sheet.The article states that "Analysts also said the merger may help Reliance increase its revenue from chemicals by as much as 4 per cent to 48 per cent of the total".Based on the price to earnings method, analysts said one share of Reliance could fetch four shares of IPCL. On the other hand, by using the book value formula, the swap ratio would come to 1:2. But the market was abuzz over a swap ratio of 1:6.(Source:Business standard)

Markets slip into red

The markets have slipped into red,on account of selling pressure seen in cement shares.
At 13.07 pm the sensex was down 75 points at 12622 and the nifty was down 28 points at 3628.

The latest news from capitalmarket quotes that"The government said it will review the increase in cement prices after companies passed on higher excise duties to customers. Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said he will hold meetings with officials in his ministry to ensure there is “no profiteering” by cement makers.While the government cannot ask cement companies not to pass on the increase in levy, it is trying to find a “way out” of the situation, he added."

Gujarat Ambuja has plunged 5% to Rs 108, and ACC has crashed 4.5% to Rs 816.

Market gives up early gains

BSE, NSE have resumed trading after sun outage.The markets opened firm in the morning,tracking the Asian markets and buying continued.The sensex spurted 282 points in the opening trade.At 12.34 pm the sensex is up 47.89 points at 12745,and the Nifty is barely 6 points up at 3662.

All the Asian indices were trading with gains except the Nikkei share average, which slipped into negative territory on Wednesday as investors sold Canon Inc and other major contributors to the benchmark ahead of Friday's settlement of Nikkei futures and options. The market is often hit by volatility in the days leading up to the settlement, known in Japan as the "SQ" or "special quotation". The Nikkei was down 0.33%, at 16,788.47.

Reliance communications,Cipla,Dr Reddys labs were the top gainer on the sensex,while Gujarat ambuja cements,ACC,ITC, and TCS were the top losers.

Markets end with a bang

After yesterdays almost 500 points fall the markets recovered sharply today and ended on a cheerful note.IT stocks were the star performers leading the uptrend followed by banking and capital goods.The sensex closed at 12679.09,with a gain of 282.05 points,while Nifty closed at 3655.65,with a gain of 79.15 points.

Wipro led the rally in IT shares. The Wipro stock jumped 8% to Rs 582. IT bellwether Infosys gained 6% to Rs 2130, Satyam Computer gained 5% to Rs 435.50 and TCS advanced 3% to Rs 1198.Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 3.5% to Rs 1304.05.ICICI Bank surged 4% to Rs 854.Cement shares came off the lower level in volatile trade. ACC surged 5.9% to Rs 861.50, Grasim gained 1.4% to Rs 2133 and Gujarat Ambuja Cements gained 1.7% to Rs 113.80.Bharti Airtel gained 4.7% to Rs 724. The near-term trigger for the scrip is the number of new subscriptions for February 2007.

Tech stocks push market higher

Markets regained the strength and moved higher.Buying is seen in scrips across sectors. Leading the uptrend are IT majors.At 15.21 IST the Sensex was up 332points, at 12,747.25,while nifty was up 79 points at 3655.30.

Market losing the early gains

The market had surged in the opening trade,tracking recovery in the Asian markets.But as trading progressed market started losing the early gains.At 13.30 pm Nifty was up 42 points,at 3618.40.The sensex was trading 125 points up at 12540.52.The sensex had settled at 12,599.49 at 11:45 IST, when trading was halted temporarily from 11:45 IST to 12:25 IST due to sun outage.Trading time has been extended by 45 minutes till 16:15 IST.

Wipro,Infosys,Satyam and ICICI Bank were the top gainers on the sensex,while BPCL,Wipro ,Gail and Maruti Udyog were the top gainers on the Nifty.The losers on Nifty were Sail,Tata Power,Hindalco and Hero Honda,while that on the sensex were Hindalco,Hero Honda,Tata Steel and NTPC.

As per provisional data, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 732 crore on Monday (5 March 2007), the day when the Sensex had tumbled 471 points. FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 324.90 crore Friday (2 March 2007), the day when the Sensex had lost 273 points.

Markets end in deep red

The markets closed in deep red as heavy selling continued throughout the day.The global markets were also in a state of meltdowm.

Sensex closed down 471.09 points or 3.66% at 12415.04, and the Nifty down 150.25 points or 4.03% at 3576.5. Gujarat ambuja cements(up 0.35% to Rs 110) and grasim (up 0.31% to Rs 2105) were the top gainers on Nifty as well as the sensex.

The Nikkei average fell 3.34% on Monday, marking its biggest one-day tumble in nine months and a new low for 2007, as investors continued to dump shares in exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc. following the yen's rise. The Nikkei tumbled 575.68 points, to 16,642.25, its lowest closing since December and its biggest one-day percentage loss since June 2006.The Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 751.85 (3.87%), to 18,690.16.All European and Asia/Pacific markets were trading with sharp losses.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 4.43% to Rs 1259. A huge 11.49 lakh shares had changed hands in the heavyweight counter. The RIL scrip had also slipped to an intra-day low of Rs 1257.50.

Weakness Persists in the Market

The market is weak in the aftenoon session and selling continued. At 14.32 pm the Nifty was at 3590.40 ,136 points down and the sensex was at 12462.10 ,almost 424 points down.

Gujarat Ambuja cements was the only top gainer on the Nifty as well as Sensex trading at Rs 110.50, just a small difference to the closing price of Rs 109.80 on friday.

Ranbaxy labs,Maruti Udyog,NTPC were the top losers on the sensex,while Jet Airways,Sail,M&M and Oriental bank were the top losers on the Nifty.We expect the market to slide further in the late afternoon trade.

Market in a downward spiral

The market plunged in opening trade,the reasons for which are stated as weakness in Asian markets and scared by data showing sustained FII-sales in the past few days.At 11.45 pm,the Nifty is at 3610.10 which is almost 118 points less than fridays closing.
The sensex is at 12492 ie 395 points down.

The other factors which analysts think have triggered the fall are lack of inflows at higher levels, the surprise CRR-hike, high valuations, rising inflation and rising interest rates, fears of an earnings slowdown in the coming quarters, defeat of the Congress in Uttarakhand and Punjab, weak global markets and profit-taking at higher levels.

Trading has been has been extended by 45 minutes till 16:15 IST from today due to sun outage. The extended trading hours are till 19 March 2007. Trading on NSE will be stopped from 11:45 IST to 12:25 IST daily during the same period.

We feel that the recent fall in the markets is a good oppurtunity for long term investors to enter into some stocks. We recommend Dabur,Reliance communications,Gujarat ambuja cements as some of the stocks which have consolidated and investors can buy these stocks.

Stocks suffer another torrid session

The Sensex plunged sharply for the second straight day, today’s fall being more profound and painful compared to Friday's. The BSE benchmark traded in the red throughout on continued selling. All the BSE sectoral indices ended in the red.

The benchmark Sensex also suffered a bout of volatility, swinging sharply either ways. The 30-shares BSE Sensex settled 348.20 points (2.39%) in deficit, at 14,190.70, recovering some lost ground after plunging to a low of 14,146.22 on value-buying. The Sensex has thus breached a vital support level of 14,200. It had touched an all-time high at 14,724 on Friday (9 February).

The BSE Sensex began on a highly bearish note, as selling pressure spilled over into this week. The horror show had started on Friday, when the benchmark Sensex tumbled close to 113 points, as a lot of stop losses were triggered due to highly leveraged positions in the derivatives market. Its high for the day was 14,529.28. Traders and speculators exited long positions, and chose to sit on the sidelines before the Union Budget. Weak global markets also played spoilsport.

The S&P CNX Nifty lost 129.10 points (3.08%), to 4,058.30.

As the market tanked, the market-breadth, indicative of the overall health of the market, did not look good, as a host of small-cap and mid-cap stocks succumbed to selling. There were close to seven losers for every gainer on BSE. For 2,312 shares that declined on BSE, only 334 rose. Just 27 shares were unchanged.

The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 3266 crore.There was complete pandemonium in the market, and not even a single member from the 30-member Sensex pack was spared the rod.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries plunged the most after its large all-cash acquisition of US-based Novelis raised concerns about a short-term strain on financials. It was down 14% to Rs 149.05 on high volumes of 72.81 lakh shares. Hindalco Industries and Novelis, on Sunday, signed a definitive agreement for Hindalco to acquire Novelis in an all-cash transaction, which values the US firm at approximately $6 billion, including approximately $2.4 billion of debt.

It may be worthwhile to recall a similar situation, when Tata Steel won the bid to acquire Corus, with analysts worrying about the high price paid by Tata Steel to acquire Corus. Novelis is the largest flat rolled products player in the world with a 19% share of the global market.

The Novelis-Hindalco deal will be financed through a recourse debt of $2.8 billion, Hindalco’s treasury contributing $450 million, and SL Iron Ore Mining, another group company, chipping in with $300 million as debt.

Following the transaction, Hindalco, along with Novelis, will be the world's largest aluminium rolling company, one of the biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia, and India's leading copper producer.

Novelis posted a net loss of $102 million during the third quarter of 2006. The company has been plagued by high metal prices.

Reliance Communications (RCL) dropped 4.63% to Rs 453.55, on a volume of 21.23 lakh shares, after it lost the bid to acquire the fourth largest cellular services provider, Hutch Essar. Vodafone emerged the top bidder with a $19 billion bid.

RCL recovered from a low of Rs 448.15. Vodafone staved off bids from RCL, the Hinduja brothers and Essar itself, to buy Hutchison's 67% stake for $11.1 billion in cash, and $2 billion more in debt, an enterprise value of $18.8 billion. Vodafone's emergence as a top bidder has dashed Reliance Communications' hope of becoming the largest mobile operator in the country. Reliance Communications added 1.2 million subscribers in January 2007.

Bhel (down 6.25% to Rs 2348), Bharti Airtel (down 4.62% to Rs 718), and Gujarat Ambuja Cements (down 4.54% to Rs 132.50) were the other major losers.

Index heavyweight, Reliance Industries, settled at Rs 1,354, down 2.47% from the previous close of Rs 1,388.25 on a volume of 4.98 lakh shares.

Other heavyweight shares, Infosys (down 0.49% to Rs 2350) and ONGC (down 2.12% to Rs 865) also declined. ONGC is reportedly set to acquire up to 35% stake in a Congo oil block held by Italy's ENI in a swap for a similar stake in an Indian oilfield. The deal is expected to be signed on Wednesday.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) dropped 29% to Rs 257, on a volume of 17.66 lakh shares, after the stock went into a no-delivery period ahead of the de-merger of Dish TV, its direct-to-home TV service. The counter clocked 9.30 lakh shares on the BSE. The company has fixed 20 February 2007 as a record date for determining the shareholders of the company eligible for shares in ASC Enterprises, which will be later renamed Dish TV. ZEE will allot 23 fully paid-up equity shares of Re 1 each in ASC for every 10 equity shares held in ZEE.

Technocraft Industries India settled at 100.90 on BSE on its day of debut, notching up a volume of 98.63 lakh shares. It listed at Rs 125 on BSE, a premium of 19.04% over the IPO price of Rs 105. The scrip also touched an intra-day low of Rs 97.35, and an intra-day high of Rs 130. The company raised around Rs 87.36 crore at the upper end of the price band of Rs 95 - 105 per share in the IPO concluded recently. The IPO was oversubscribed 10.67 times.

All the BSE sectoral indices were in the red. The BSE Metals index was the top loser, down 497.62 points (5.46%), to 8,616.43. Ispat Industries (down 7.64% to Rs 13.90), Sterlite Industries (down 4.42% to Rs 439), SAIL (down 5.43% to Rs 107.20), Hindustan Zinc (down 5.05% to Rs 630) and Jindal Stainless (down 4.06% to Rs 115.75) declined.

Shares from the real estate sector declined sharply extending their recent fall. Mahindra Gesco Developers (down 4.24% to Rs 618), Akruti Nirman (down 19% to Rs 450), Peninsula Land (down 10% to Rs 412.95), Unitech (down 10% to Rs 420.95), Parsvnath Developers (down 10.70% to Rs 302.60) and Sobha Developers (down 9.48% to Rs 826.80). Real estate stocks have been correcting in the past few days, as market players turned cautious due to fear of rising interest rates in India, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightening bank credit to the real estate sectors.

Gail India lost 1.30% to Rs 288.75, off its day’s high of Rs 301.95, after it informed that a joint venture, Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer, was formed on 8 January 2007. GAIL India holds 70% equity and Numaligarh Refinery, Oil India & the Government of Assam hold 10% equity each.

Suzlon Energy plunged 12.62% to Rs 1089, on concerns about a short-term strain on its financials due to plans for a big acquisition overseas. It offered $1.33 billion for REpower Systems AG, trumping the offer by Areva of France by 20%. Suzlon Energy is bidding in consortium with Martifer, Portugal, a steel construction company operating across Europe, and the second largest shareholder in REpower holding 25.4% stake.

Suzlon and Martifer will establish a special purpose vehicle to give effect to the bid in which Suzlon will own 75% and Martifer 25%. REpower Systems was founded in 2001, and operates in the wind-energy sector, specialising in high output turbine technology particularly suited to offshore turbines. It is a leader in 5 Mw turbines.

Fairfield Atlas rose 4.42% to Rs 88.40, after OC Oerlikon Corporation AG, Pfaffikon, Switzerland & TH Licensing Inc., USA, decided to acquire all its equity shares at Rs 81 per share. All the shares that are validly tendered as per terms of the offer up to a maximum of 54.64 lakh equity shares of the face value of Rs 10 each, representing in aggregate 20% of the paid up equity share capital of the target company. The open offer will open on 30 March 2007, while it is scheduled to close on 18 April 2007.

Sunil Hitech Engineers declined 7.31% to Rs 88.70, even as it bagged new orders to the tune of Rs 62.88 crore, the execution period for which is about two years. Two projects are for structural steel works for RINL, Visakapatnam, worth Rs 25.32 crore, marking its foray into infrastructure development for steel plants. One of the projects is worth Rs 11.95 crore from Bhel for erection work of a boiler. Sunil Hitech Engineers said its current order-book is a robust Rs 512.53 crore.

GHCL slipped 4.48% to Rs 165.25, in an overall weak market despite the company acquiring the assets of US-based Best Manufacturing Group for $ 35 million. Best Manufacturing's annual sales stand at $160 million. Best is a leading manufacturer of home textiles and related items for the hospitality and healthcare sectors in the US.

Subhash Projects & Marketing dropped 5% to Rs 229.95, even as the company said it had bagged two orders worth Rs 63 crore. Subhash Projects has bagged orders - one is worth Rs 23 crore from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation and the other is Rs 40 crore worth from Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam. Both projects have to be completed in 12 months.

The scope of work for both projects on partial turnkey basis includes construction of 220 Kv sub-station and 220 Kv transmission lines, supply of all matching materials / equipments (excluding power transformer) and erection of all materials / equipments as well as testing and commissioning of the same. Subhash Project’s order-book position is Rs 2800 crore.

Meanwhile, Indian industrial output growth in December slowed from its fastest pace in more than a decade, but its persistent strength and rising inflation kept the prospects of further monetary tightening burning. Output rose 11.1% in December from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, in line with a median estimate of 10.9% of analysts, but slower than the upwardly revised annual growth of 15.4% in November. Manufacturing rose 11.9% in December from a year earlier, Capital goods production rose an annual 20.2%, while consumer goods output rose 7.4%. The government estimates the economy will grow 9.2% in 2006/07, backed by rising industrial output and services.

Most of the Asian and European markets finished in the red, on selling pressure. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 84.25 points (0.41%), at 20,593.41, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was down 83.17 points (1.06%), at 7,776.36, Singapore's Straits Times plunged 50.43 points (1.57%), at 3,170.46, while South Korea's Seoul Composite index was down 13.39 points (0.94%), to 1,414.29.

US stocks closed lower on Friday after an extensive sell off in stocks inspite of new upgrades announced by Ford Motor and General Motors. The sell-off was prompted by a rise in crude futures, remarks by Federal Reserve officials leaving open the possibility of more rate hikes and concern by Micron Technology executives about memory chip demand and pricing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 56.8 points at 12,580.83, and Nasdaq lost 28.85 points, to 2,459.82.

FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 560 crore in index-based futures on 9 February, the day when the Sensex lost 113 points in a broad decline after a surge in inflation to a more than two-year high. Concerns of a further rise in interest rates grew after the inflation data was released last week. Data released on 9 February 2007 showed that the wholesale price index rose 6.58% in the 12 months to 27 January 2007, the biggest rise in more than two years fanning concerns of a further rise in interest rates.

Net buying by FIIs stood at $153.7 million on 8 February 2007. Mutual funds net sale was Rs 193 crore (Rs 1.93 billion) on the same day. NSE F&O open interest was down by Rs 815 crore (Rs 8.15 billion) at Rs 60,052 crore (Rs 600.52 billion).

Oil prices climbed briefly above $60 a barrel on Friday for the first time since the first trading day of the year, as an unrelenting winter across the US led to belief that heating fuel demand will not wane anytime soon. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose $0.18, to settle at $59.89 a barrel by afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising as high as $60.80.

Meanwhile, gold jumped above $668 an ounce on Monday to its highest in seven months, before losing some of the gains to weakening oil prices. Spot gold hit an intraday high of $668.20 an ounce, its best since mid-July on short-covering, before slipping to $665.75/666.50 an ounce, slightly lower than $666.50/667.20 late in New York. Firm oil prices raise gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.