Auto shares gained after the government today announced a cut of Rs 2 per litre in price of petrol and rupee one per litre in diesel. Bajaj Auto rose 1.1% to Rs 2,670, Tata Motors added 0.8% to Rs 817 and Maruti Udyog moved 0.6% higher to Rs 920.

Tyre shares rallied as natural rubber prices remained low. JK Industries gained nearly 5% to Rs 141.90, CEAT rose 4.4% to Rs 131.75, Apollo Tyres rose 4% to Rs 357 and MRF rose 2.7% to Rs 4612.

Torrent Power surged 20% to Rs 84.80. Distillation equipment maker Praj Industries gained 4% to Rs 195.20. BPO firm Tricom India soared 10% to Rs 123.60. On Monday, the company announced that it plans to build a new centre at Nashik with a recruitment of 400 freshers to its fold.

Decliners

Refinery shares declined on concerns that reduction in retail fuel prices would put further pressure on their marketing margins. HPCL shed 3.5% to Rs 291.50 and BPCL lost 1.7% to Rs 354.

Indian Oil Corporation dropped 4.7% to Rs 459.90 and Bongaigaon Refinery shed 5.5% to Rs 50.65. Indian Oil Corporation today recommended a swap ratio of four of its shares for every 37 shares held in Bongaigaon Refinery, for merger of Bongaigaon Refinery in Indian Oil Corporation.

Oil exploration large-cap ONCG shed 0.8% to Rs 859.80. ONGC has to sell crude at a discount to state-run refiners to help them reduce losses incurred due to state-set prices.

Bharti Airtel lost 1.3% to Rs 620 on profit taking. Communist Party of India said on Tuesday it was against the entry of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in India, a day after Bharti Enterprises, a Bharti Airtel group company announced a tie-up with the world biggest retailer on Tuesday.

ICICI Bank declined 0.8% to Rs 855 and Reliance Industries dropped 0.1% to Rs 1,249. Software large-cap Infosys shed 0.7% to Rs 2,151 in volatile trade. On Tuesday, Infosys ADR advanced nearly 1%.

Tata Steel dropped 0.04% to Rs 475.60 in volatile trade after Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group said on Wednesday its third-quarter earnings rose 63% on the back of higher steel prices.


9:45AM Stocks opened higher on GDP data.
U.S. stocks opened in the green, boosted by 2.2% upward revision of Q3 economic growth which helped reverse a slide in the dollar and pushed market averages higher. The report was also an encouraging sign that the housing slump hasn''t been a heavy drag on the economy. The Dow was supported by Pfizer (PFE: chart) as the drugmaker rose 1.5% after news of its job cut plans in a major restructuring. The pharmaceutical sector moved higher, with AstraZeneca (AZN: chart) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK: chart) turning in two of the sector''s best performances, both trading at 3%. Boeing (BA: chart) also lent support to the blue-chip index, rising 0.3% after Prudential raised its price target on the stock to $99 from $94.

Among other stocks, contributing to the positive mood on Wall Street, jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. (TIF: chart) moved 5.6% higher after it reported Q3 profit ahead of projections. Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL: chart) gained $1.24 to $93.05 on strong demand for its Macintosh computers and iPod music players. Some airline, brokerage, and telecommunications stocks also moved significantly higher. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 35.17, or 0.29%, to 12,171.62. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 5.12, or 0.37%, at 1,391.84, and the Nasdaq composite index added 15.29, or 0.63%, to 2,427.90.


9:30 AM The FTSE 100 rebounds on strong financials and bid speculation.
The FTSE 100 rebounded 38.9 points, or 0.6%, to 6,065.3, after a fall of 2.9 % over the last six sessions.

Advancers

The leading large-cap was software company Sage, up 6.2%, after it reported a 14% rise in pre-tax profits and said it remained confident about prospects for continued growth. Legal & General jumped 3% amid rumours that Aegon, the Dutch insurer, was eyeing a takeover. Rival Prudential gained 2.1% on talk it could be a target for HSBC. Plumbing group Wolseley moved 3.8% higher despite first quarter profits rising only marginally.

Pharmaceutical stocks rose on reports that Swiss drugmaker Novartis may sell its baby food maker Gerber Products to food group Nestle. GlaxoSmithKline firmed up 3% while AstraZeneca gained 2.5%.

The mining sector was given a boost by commodity price rises as gold, silver and copper all rallied. BHP Billiton rose 1.8% and Xstrata was higher by 2.1%.

Decliners