Sensex went a single point shy of the 13800 mark to set a new lifetime intra-day high. Both Sensex and Nifty ended at new lifetime closing highs.

Sensex closed with gains of 70 points at 13774 and the Nifty gained 18 points to end at 3969. Nifty November futures closed at a premium of 9 points to the spot index.

Cement stocks saw significant gains in the afternoon. ACC was the best performer, gaining 3.29 per cent, while Gujarat Ambuja Cements added 3.17 per cent.

ONGC was firm in opening trades and rallied in the afternoon to end 1.79 per cent higher.

Jet Airways continued to rally despite higher oil prices and added another 2.65 per cent.

Bharti Airtel rallied 2.25 per cent after the promoter group announced a tie-up with US retail giant Wal-Mart to set up retail business. Bharti Airtel is not expected to take any stake in the retail venture.

Among other telecom stocks, Reliance Communications gained 1.71 per cent and VSNL added 1.43 per cent.

Among tech stocks, HCL Tech gained 2.02 per cent and Wipro added 1.89 per cent.

Tata Power rallied 2.24 per cent after the company announced strong second quarter results.

Dr Reddy's remained weak throughout the session and was the worst performer among index stocks, down 2.28 per cent. Among other pharma stocks, Glaxo gave up 1.34 per cent.

Oil marketing stocks lost ground as crude oil prices remained firm. HPCL slipped 2.1 per cent and BPCL lost 1.41 per cent.

Among metals, Nalco lost 1.76 per cent and SAIL ended 1.44 per cent lower.

Zee Tele slipped 2.21 per cent as the excitement over the de-merger details announced last week subsided.

Siemens continued to lose ground and gave up another 2.05 per cent. The stock has lost nearly 14 per cent over the last 3 sessions after surging more than 9 per cent last Wednesday. ABB was another loser from the engineering space, losing 1.41 per cent.

HLL was another loser among index stocks, closing 1.38 per cent
GE Shipping got re-listed today after the de-merger of its offshore services business, which would be listed separately. The stock opened at Rs278 on the NSE and ended at Rs223 on the NSE

Global markets / crude oil
Asian markets were mostly firm, despite the weak closing by US indices on Friday. Thailand was the best performer, adding 1.5 per cent, followed by Japan which gained close to a per cent.

Singapore gained over 0.9 per cent while Malaysia added nearly 0.75 per cent. Indonesia gained 0.65 per cent and South Korea ended 0.25 per cent higher.

Among the losers, Hong Kong ended 0.3 per cent lower and Shanghai corrected modestly by 0.15 per cent after last week's rally.

European markets were weak in opening trades and have slipped further in early afternoon trades. Major indices are trading with losses of between 0.3 and a per cent each.

Crude oil prices continue to remain firm after last week's recovery. NYMEX futures have gained nearly a per cent and are trading above $59.75 per barrel in European trades today.

Large-cap news flow

• has acquired a majority stake in Pune-based auto ancillary company DGP Hinoday, for an undisclosed amount. M&M would hold a 66 per cent stake while Japanese company Hitachi Metals would hold the rest.
  
  
• NTPC has clarified that the company is still in discussions to submit a proposal for setting up a 900 MW power plant in Sri Lanka.
  
  
• Reliance Industries is finding more natural gas reserves in the KG basin, according to unconfirmed media reports quoting the company chairman. The company is expected to start commercial production of gas by 2008 and by the year 2010-2011, gas would be a significant contributor to its revenues.

Mid-Cap Action

Mid-caps and small caps also extended their gains from last week. They opened firm and the indices saw their highs in early afternoon trades before giving up part of their gains later in the day.

The CNX Mid-Cap index ended with gains of 27 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 5080. BSE mid-cap index gained 0.55 per cent and the BSE small cap index ended with gains of 0.82 per cent.

Lanco Infratech got listed on the exchanges today. Issued at Rs240 per share, the stock opened at Rs270 and touched a high of Rs290 before finally ending at Rs241.4.

Sakuma Exports saw a sharp rally and ended the day on 20 per cent upper circuit. Pidilite gained close to 20 per cent while Mukand Engineering added nearly 18 per cent.

Zodiac JRD, Atul Products, Nelco and Vivimed Labs were all locked in 10 per cent upper circuits.

City Union Bank, Sangam India and Fiem Industries were the other major gainers among mid-caps

Igarashi Motors, FCS Software, JHS Svengaard, PNB Gilts, Lyka Labs, Ind-Swift Limited, GKW and Softpro were among the major mid-cap losers.

Mid-cap news flow

• Sun TV would merge two of its subsidiaries, Gemini TV and Udaya TV, with the company. Gemini TV owns 5 Telugu television channels while Udaya TV owns 4 Kannada television channels.
  
  
• UTV would form an equal JV with an overseas company to promote television channels targeted at the youth in South Asia and South East Asia.
  
  
• Lok Housing is planning to raise up to $200 million from an overseas issue.
  
  
• Gitanjali Gems has completed the FCCB issue and has raised $110 million. The 5-year bonds would be listed in Singapore and have a conversion price of Rs275 per share
  
  
• The board of Adani Enterprises would meet early next month to consider an FCCB issue.
  
  
• A consortium of Unity Infraprojects and Pratibha Industries has won an order worth Rs65.6 crore for the expansion of Amritsar airport. Unity Infra holds 75 per cent and Pratibha holds the rest.
  
  
• The board of Goldstone Technologies would meet this week to consider issuing FCCB's and convertible warrants.
  
  
• McLeod Russell is planning to merge its subsidiary Doom Dooma Tea with the company.
  
  
• Mphasis BFL has changed its name to Mphasis Limited.
  
  
• Sonata Software has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in a German software company for €18 million. The transaction was financed by credit facility of €10 million and the balance from internal accruals.
  
  
• Vijay Shanthi Builders said four of its residential projects have been sold out.
  
  
• BASF India has discontinued manufacturing of agrochemicals.
  
  
• The board of Rajesh Exports would meet early next month to consider the promotion of subsidiary companies.
  
  
• Tricom India would set up a new BPO facility in Nashik.
  

*Disclaimer: The author may have positions in some of the stocks specifically mentioned above at the time of writing this article. This analysis / report is only for the purpose of information and is not an investment advice. Readers are advised to consult a certified financial advisor before taking any investment decisions. While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in the content the author or publisher shall not be held responsible for any loss caused to any person whatsoever.