ICICI Bank rose 1.4% to Rs 872, on reports that the largest private sector bank is slated to raise $1 billion through an issue of yen-denominated bonds. Other banks also gained. State Bank of India edged 2% up to Rs 1,233. 30, Bank of India rose 1.6% to Rs 190, and Bank of Baroda moved 1% higher to Rs 258.20.
Auto shares advanced supported by the general upbeat note of the market. Car major Maruti Udyog rose 1.7% to Rs 885.25, Tata Motors gained 2% to Rs 819, Ashok Leyland added 3% to Rs 43.45 and Bajaj Auto advanced 0.4% to Rs 2,576.
Mahindra & Mahindra surged 2.7% to Rs 841, after the company announced on Monday it had signed a deal with Global Vehicles, US, to distribute sports utility vehicle of Mahindra and a pick-up in the US.
Cement shares gained on firm cement prices. ACC advanced 1.3% to Rs 1,071, Gujarat Ambuja Cements jumped 1.9% to Rs 136, and UltraTech Cement rose 1.3% to Rs 895.25. Reliance Industries moved up 1.3% to Rs 1,274, and Dr.Reddy''s added 1% to Rs 731.
Small-cap and mid-cap stocks surged, bucking the recent trend. Gainers in the small-cap and mid-cap stocks were Sika Interplant Systems soaring 20% to Rs 103.90, Shrachi Securities also up 20% to Rs 63.70, Development Credit Bank rising 20% to Rs 63.20, Mount Shivalik Industries increasing 20% to Rs 56.
Decliners
Infosys edged slightly lower in volatile trade. The scrip shed 0.5% to Rs 2,241. The software giant on Tuesday priced its sponsored ADR issue at $53.30 per ADR, a 3.2% discount to closing price of $55.2 on Monday. HDFC declined 1.03% to Rs 1,648.
9:45AM Stocks opened little changed. Google rallied on hitting $500
Stocks opened little changed Tuesday, with Boeing Co. supporting the Dow after the aerospace company received a $5.5 billion order for planes from Korean Air which is buying 25 passenger and freighter aircraft. Shares in Boeing (
BA: chart) rose 78 cents to $89.90. The deal was seen as a victory for Boeing over rival Airbus. Google (
GOOG: chart) rallied after it hit the $500 level for the first time. The stock was last up $10.16, or 2.1%, at $505.09. Medtronic (
MDT: chart) was upgraded by a number of analysts after the company reported its quarterly profit came in above expectations. The stock jumped 7%. Some health insurance stocks posted strong gains, with shares of Sierra Health Services (
SIE: chart) up 5.6% after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the managed health care company to neutral from sell, saying that an acquisition of the company is a possibility.
Among other companies driven by analyst comments, Juniper Networks (
JNPR: chart), networking equipment provider, moved higher 3.5% after J.P. Morgan upgraded its rating on the stock to overweight from neutral, saying that it expects the company''s revenue growth to pick up in 2007. J.P. Check Point Software ((CHKP)0 also gained after J.P. Morgan upgraded its rating on the security software developer to overweight from neutral. Check Point jumped 4.8%. On the other hand, shares of Adtran (
ADTN: chart) dropped 4.7% after Jefferies downgraded its rating on the network access equipment supplier to hold from buy.
In earnings news, Deere (
DE: chart) posted Q4 earnings increase of 19% on improved prices and lower warranty expenses. However, the stock fell 3.3% after the company projected a sales slowdown in 2007. In the first hour of trading, the Dow fell 2.80, or 0.02%, to 12,313.74. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 1.47, or 0.10%, at 1,401.97, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.89, or 0.04%, to 2,453.61. Bonds held steady with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note unchanged from Monday at 4.60%.
9:30AM The FTSE 100 gains in afternoon trade Tuesday due to platinum stocks.
In afternoon trade, the
FTSE 100 in London gained 18.2 points, or 0.3%, to 6,222.7.
Advancers
Lonmin led the advancers. The platinum miner jumped 3.6% as the precious metal surged $148, or 12%, to a record $1,401.50 an ounce. Mid-cap Aquarius Platinum gained 4.6%.
Scottish Power rose 1.2% while International Power rose 2.8% and Scottish & Southern Energy was 3.1% higher.
Takeover speculation also lifted credit checking group Experian, up 3.4%, and Gallaher, the tobacco group, 0.9% higher.
ICAP firmed 2% after the inter-dealer broker reported solid first half earnings, with revenue up 22%.
British Land advanced 1.8% after the property group announced an 11% rise in net asset value from the interim period. British Land said its rental growth was above average for the sector.
Decliners
