Market Attempts Higher Start

Elena
15 Mar, 2007
New York City

U.S. stock futures traded moderately higher Thursday, taking a lift from solid gains in intraday trading yesterday that gave signals the market is on the rebound. As investors

[R]9:00AM U.S. stock futures pointed slightly higher ahead of inflation data.[/R]
U.S. stock futures traded moderately higher Thursday, taking a lift from solid gains in intraday trading yesterday that gave signals the market is on the rebound. As investors’ optimism spread across global markets, Asian and European stocks gained some ground after the steep decline in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 bouncing back 1.1% and the FTSE 100 rising 1.2%. Traders were also eagerly awaiting core inflation data that is expected to remain subdued. Manufacturing surveys and weekly jobless claims are also due for release.

Shares of subprime mortgage lenders continued to bounce along with the overall market. Accredited Home LendeAmong ((LEN)) climbed 19% in the pre-open. Among pre-market earnings headlights, Bear Stearns ((BSC))reported Q1 earnings increase to $553.7 million, or $3.82 a share, from $514.2 million, or $3.54 a share, a year earlier. The results beat analyst estimates of $3.80 a share. In corporate news, InterContinentalExchange ((ICE)), electronic commodities trading platform, said it made an unsolicited bid to merge with CBOT Holdings ((BOT)) in a deal that values CBOT shares at $187.34 each. That represents a 12.8% premium to CBOT's closing price on Wednesday. CBOT shares rose 17% in pre-open trading, while ICE shares gained 3.1. S&P 500 futures gained 2.90 points to 1,404.60 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 4.50 points to 1,773.00. Dow industrial futures rose 27 points to 12,276


[R]8:00AM NY-7:00PM Mumbai Sensex closes marginally higher on global market recovery.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 14.23 points, or 0.11%, higher at 12,543.85. The market-breadth was positive as there were three advancers for every two decliners. For 1,474 stocks that advanced on BSE, 1,090 declined and 73 remained unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 13 advanced and 17 declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,834.63 crore, compared with Rs 4,284 crore on Wednesday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 7,776.71 crore, higher than Rs 8,670.09 crore onWednesday.

Economic and corporate news

Insurance companies are likely to have more flexibility investing in corporate bonds and mortgage-based securities as the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority may issue guidelines by the end of the month. Insurance companies will be able to invest in all highly rated, or minimum AA+, corporate issuances. Mortgage-based securities will now be categorised as approved investment.

Vodafone of the UK and its Indian partner Essar today announced they would be working to become the largest mobile operator in India, and seek opportunities in the telecom space in the Middle-East.

Trading highlights

MindTree was the most-active stock with a turnover of Rs 570.50 crore followed by Reliance Industries and Idea.

Advancers

Dr.Reddy led the advancers, surging 4.4% to Rs 675. The company has withdrawn from the race to acquire the generic drugs unit of Merck. Other gainers included ITC and Infosys advancing 3% each to Rs 147 and Rs 2,078, respectively. ITC rallied on reports that its food unit is likely to bid for Patak, UK, which stands at about 200 million pounds, or $387 million. Hindalco was up 2.1% to Rs 131 and TCS gained 1.9% to Rs 1,236. NTPC added 1.2% at Rs 141.

Decliners

SBI led the decliners, down 2.7% to Rs 922, on 7.70 lakh shares. HDFC and Tata Motors dropped over 2.5% each to Rs 1,514 and Rs 726, respectively. Other decliners included HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto and Cipla shedding around 1.5% each to Rs 918, Rs 2,491 and Rs 227, respectively. BHEL was down 1.1% to Rs 2,007 and ICICI Bank lost 0.9% to Rs 822.

Reliance Industries declined 0.1% to Rs 1,285.1, on 11.45 lakh shares. Reportedly, Reliance is looking at buying a stake in Carrefour of France, the second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart. This would promote the largest private sector group in India to the ranks of the world top retailers. Reliance was looking at the possibility of buying the 13% stake held by the Halley family, Carrefour largest shareholder, although talks have not yet started.