Market extends gains

The key benchmark indices extended gains in mid-morning trade. The
BSE Sensex was up 183 points. IT stocks fell while, banking and
capital goods stocks rose. Buying was also seen in mid-cap and
small-cap stocks. The market breadth was positive. Sterlite
Industries rose more than 5.5%.

The market sentiment was boosted by Warren Buffett's Berkshire
Hathaway's announcment of an infusion of $5 billion in Goldman
Sachs Group. US stocks futures rose after the news which was
announced after the US markets had closed on Tuesday, 23 September
2008. Goldman will sell $5 billion of preferred stock to Berkshire
Hathaway, which will also receive warrants to purchase $5 billion
of common stock with a strike price of $115 per share. Berkshire
has five years to exercise the warrants.

The Dow futures were up 120 points and the Nasdaq futures were up
24.25 points





Asian markets were trading mixed today, 24 September 2008. Key
benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea were up
by between 0.77% to 1.28%. Key benchmark indices in Japan, China
and Taiwan were down by between 0.03% to 2.41%.

Meanwhile, a US-India civilian nuclear cooperation agreement moved
closer to approval by Congress on Tuesday, 23 September 2008, when
a key Senate Committee passed the deal with a landslide majority.
However, the historic agreement is yet to clear a few hurdles in
its final lap. The bill now goes to the floor of the Senate for the
final ratification.

At 11:22 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 183 points or 1.35% to
13,754.16. The Sensex rose 187.40 points at day's high of
13,757.71, hit in mid-morning trade. The index shed 56.25 points at
the day's low of 13,626.56, hit in the onset of trading session.





The S&P CNX Nifty was up 52.70 points or 1.28% to 4,179.60.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.94% at 5,161.34 and the BSE
Small-Cap index was up 0.0.83% at 6,143.90.

The market breadth was positive on BSE with 1295 shares advancing
as compared to 757 that declined. 70 shares remained unchanged.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalization and
oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 1.61% to Rs 2,042.

Banking stocks rose. HDFC Bank (up 2.71% to Rs 1271.25), ICICI Bank
(up 2.82% to Rs 616.20), and State Bank of India Bank (up 1.41% to
Rs 1523.70), gained from the frontline banking pack. More than
900,000 employees of India's state-owned banks will go on a two-day
strike from today, 24 September 2008, protesting against government
plans to merge banks and seeking higher salaries.

Capital goods stocks rose. Larsen & Toubro (up 1.63% to Rs 2,571),
Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 2.02% to Rs 1,659) and Suzlon Energy
(up 2.51% to Rs 198.30) edged higher.





IT stocks fell. Satyam Computer Services (down 4.21% to Rs 318),
and Wipro (down 3.44% to Rs 377) and Infosys (down 0.58% to Rs
1,534.40) edged lower. India's largest IT exporter by sales Tata
Consultancy Services rose 0.59% to Rs 723.10.

India's largest mobile services provider in terms of market share
Bharti Airtel declined 0.4% to Rs 791.05.

Sterlite Industries (up 5.79% to Rs 476.05), Jaiprakash Associates
(up 2.44% to Rs 126.05), Reliance Communications (up 1.86% to Rs
374.05), HDFC (up 1.81% to Rs 2237.90), edged higher from the
Sensex pack.

India's largest drug maker by sales Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 1.1%
to Rs 312.25. Japan's third-largest drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo said
on Wednesday, 24 September 2008, its open offer to buy up to 20%
stake in generic drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories was oversubscribed.
Investors had tendered more than 92.5 million Ranbaxy shares
between in the open offer, Daiichi Sankyo said.

In June 2008, Daiichi Sankyo had agreed to buy the 34.8% held by
Ranbaxy's founding family, and to make an open offer for a further
20% of Ranbaxy shares, as per Securities & Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) takeover regulations.





US stocks fell on Tuesday, 23 September 2008, on fear that
congressional wrangling could delay a proposed $700 billion plan to
rescue the financial sector, increasing worries about the
struggling US economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 161.52
points, or 1.47%, to end at 10,854.17. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index slid 18.87 points, or 1.56%, to 1,188.22. The Nasdaq
Composite Index dropped 25.64 points, or 1.18%, to 2,153.34.

The trading on the bourses will be extended to 16:15 IST starting
today due to Sun Outage. On BSE, there will be no trading from
11:25 IST to 12:10 IST as there will be signal problems during this
time.