ONGC gained nearly 3% at Rs 921. Oil prices rose as OPEC member, Nigeria, is holding elections this weekend, ahead of the US May futures contract expiry later on Friday. Larsen & Toubro an SBI moved up 2% each to Rs 1,695 and Rs 1,075, respectively. SBI advanced after the it said it planned to borrow up to Rs 10000 crore during 2007/08. Gujarat Ambuja was up 1.8% at Rs 115.

Decliners

Wipro lost 1.4% to Rs 571. Wipro today posted 44% growth in net profit in the March 2007 quarter to Rs 861 crore as per US GAAP, compared with the same time a year ago. It also forecast strong growth on more outsourcing and higher billing rates.

Hindustan Lever and Hero Honda were the other two declining stocks in the Sensex. Hindustan Lever lost 0.8% to Rs 206 and Hero Honda dipped 0.7% to Rs 649.6.


6:30AM European markets are higher Friday on M&A and bid speculation.
European markets were higher Friday. By mid-day, the U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 0.5% at 6,473.10, the German DAX Xetra 30 index advanced 0.6% at 7,286.73 and the French CAC-40 index increased 0.5% at 5,859.37. National benchmarks gained in all 16 western European markets that were open.

Advancers

Pharmacy chain Alliance Boots gained 5.4% after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Alliance Boots deputy chairman, Stefano Pessina, announced that they had agreed to pay 10.6 billion pounds, or $21.3 billion, to buy the company. In a statement accompanying the offer, Alliance Boots also said that Terra Firma and the Wellcome Trust also indicated that they were interested in the company.

Software consulting company SAP shares rose 1.9% after it said that its first-quarter net income rose 10% to 310 million euros from 282 million euros. Revenue for the quarter rose 6%, or 11% at constant currencies, to 2.2 billion euros.

BHP, the world largest mining company, added 1.2%. Anglo American, the world second-biggest mining company, climbed 1.2%.

Nokia, the world largest maker of mobile phones, advanced 2.1%. ABN Amro Holding NV raised its recommendation for the shares to buy from hold while WestLB lifted the stock to buy from reduce.

Decliners

Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson lost 0.6% after Sony Ericsson, its mobile phone joint venture with Sony, stated that its first quarter net income rose to 254 million euros, from 109 million euros a year ago, after sales grew to 2.93 billion euros, from 1.99 billion euros last year.

Volkswagen fell 1.2% as the shares trade without the right to their latest dividend.

Oil and precious metals

Crude oil for May delivery fell $1.80, or 2.8%, to $61.83 a barrel in the first four days of trading this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold and silver climbed as the dollar plunged to its fourth consecutive weekly decline against the euro, making investors buy the precious metals as an alternative investment to U.S. stocks and bonds. Gold for immediate delivery in London rose $3.10, or 0.5%, to $686.05 an ounce. Silver for immediate delivery gained 12.5 cents, or 0.9%, to $13.805 an ounce. Platinum climbed $18.50, or 1.4%, to $1,315.50 an ounce, while palladium rose $4, or 1.1%, to $381 an ounce.

Currencies

The dollar was lower against most other major currencies in European trading Thursday morning. The euro traded at $1.3598, up from $1.3580 late Wednesday in New York. The British pound remained above the $2 mark, trading at $2.0021, down from $2.0057. The dollar fetched 117.84 Japanese yen, down from 118.61.