Hero Honda led the advancers, up 1.62% to Rs 745 on 6.64 lakh shares. The stock gained following reports that the government is considering reduction in oil prices. An announcement regarding fuel prices will be made in parliament on tomorrow.

Cement stocks also finished in positive territory. Grasim was up 0.65% to Rs 2,711, and Gujarat Ambuja Cements advanced 0.38% to Rs 143.70. State Bank of India also added 1.37% to Rs 1,294.10 and Maruti rose 0.35% to Rs 914.

Donear Industries jumped 6.28% to Rs 165 while Amar Remedies surged 20% to Rs 63.15 on high volume of shares.

Godfrey Phillips jumped 10% to Rs 1,140.55, on reports that the company is planning to issue bonus shares to reward investors in the next few months and at a ratio of 4 shares for 1 held.

Force Motors rose 0.80% to Rs 421 after the board of the company approved the transfer of assets and liabilities of the heavy commercial vehicles division to its subsidiary Man Force Trucks.

Other news

Bharti Enterprises of India aims to have one-stop shops of all sizes in its new retail venture with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and is talking to other global firms to farm out some transportation, its chairman said on Tuesday. The company plans to have its first store by the August next year. The company is likely to roll-out ‘hundreds of stores’ in the next two years according to press reports.

Cairn India has set a price range between Rs 160 and Rs 190 a share for its initial public offering (IPO), which is likely to be on the Indian capital market on December 11. The company expects to raise about Rs 5,261 crore by offering 32.88 crore equity shares to public.


9:45AM Stocks opened lower. Oil stocks gained. Apple rose on UBS upgrade.
Stock markets opened in the red for a third consecutive session, following weaker-than-expected durable goods data in October. Investors were also awaiting reports on consumer confidence and existing home sales later in the session. A speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that could provide clues on the outlook for interest rates was also expected.

Shares of oil companies rose as crude oil prices climbed above $60 a barrel. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: chart) shares rose 0.7%, while shares of Chevron Corp. (CVX: chart) were up almost 1%. Shares of lawn care service provider ServiceMaster Co. (SVM: chart) jumped 6.7% after the company said it plans to explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. Among other early movers, Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL: chart) rose 1.3%to $90.83 after UBS raised its price target on the company. Again on the Nasdaq, shares of Palm Inc. (PALM: chart) fell 6% to $14.43 a day after the handheld device maker slashed its Q2 profit and revenue forecasts. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 30.05, or 0.25%, to 12,091.66, after falling 158 on Monday. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 3.55, or 0.26%, at 1,378.35, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 14.72, or 0.61%, at 2,391.20. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.50%from 4.53% late Monday.

Durable goods orders hit a six-year low in October.
Tuesday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on durable goods orders in the month of October, showing that orders for goods meant to last at least three years fell much more than economists had expected. The report showed that new orders for durable goods fell 8.3 percent in October, marking the biggest one-month decline since July of 2000. Economists had expected orders to fall 5.0 percent compared to the 8.7 percent increase reported for September. The drop in durable goods orders was largely due to a significant decline in orders for transportation equipment, which fell 21.7 percent in October after surging up 29.9 percent in September. A drop in orders for commercial aircraft contributed to the decline in orders for transportation equipment. The report showed that orders for non-defense aircraft and parts fell 44.5 percent in October after rising 198.2 percent in September. Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders fell by a more modest 1.7 percent in October compared to a 0.5 percent increase in the previous month. The report also showed a notable decline in orders for computers and electronics products, which fell 10.2 percent in October following a 2.3 percent increase in September. The decrease reflected a notable drop in orders for computers and related products. The Commerce Department also noted that shipments of durable goods rose 0.6 percent in October after falling 2.7 percent in September. Inventories of durable goods rose 0.8 percent in October following a 1.1 percent increase in the previous month.


9:30AM London was lower in early trading Tuesday on US markets close.
By late morning, the FTSE 100 was down 14 points, or 0.2%, to 6,036.1.

Advancers

ITV led the gainers, up 1.3%. The commercial broadcaster has pulled off a coup by luring Michael Grade, chairman of the BBC, to become its new executive chairman. Grade is very well-known and has a strong broadcasting CV at the BBC, LWT, Channel 4 etc. Given the management vacuum at ITV, this should be taken well by the market.

Still with media, EMI Group jumped 6.5% on reports that the company was in talks with private equity groups about a possible bid worth 2.5 billion pounds or more.

Telecoms firm Kingston Communications posted a three-fold increase in half year pre-tax profit and is confident about trading in the second half. Kingston Communications rose 1.12%.

Tobacco group Gallaher was a leading advancer, up 1.6%. Yell Group firmed 1.3% as Goldman Sachs upgraded the directories company from neutral to buy.

Decliners