Decliners

Reliance Communications led the decline, down 3.8% to Rs 501 while Reliance Energy tumbled 3.7% Rs 535. HDFC Bank shed 3.5% to Rs 1,105.

Engineering large-cap BHEL which struck a record high of Rs 2,922.50 in intra-day trade, dipped on profit booking. It lost 3% to Rs 2,768. It had reported 33% increase in net profit in fourth-quarter of fiscal 2007 to Rs 1,150.37 crore from Rs 867.95 crore in the comparable period a year earlier. Sales rose to Rs 6,919.68 crore, from Rs 5,515.69 crore a year earlier.

Hindalco dropped 2.7% to Rs 141. Infosys slipped 2.4% to Rs 1,904. Maruti and Hindustan Lever shed around 2% each to Rs 803 and Rs 199, respectively. TCS and Satyam lost 1.5% each to Rs 1,214 and Rs 465, respectively, while ICICI Bank dropped 1% to Rs 911. Index heavy Reliance Industries declined 0.1% to Rs 1,755 on 8.54 lakh shares.


6:30AM European markets decline Wednesday, reacting to Chinese economic measures.

European markets were lower on Wednesday. By mid-day trading, Frankfurt Xetra Dax shed 0.8% to 7,721.72, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.8% to 6,010.57 and London FTSE 100 slipped 0.7% to 6,558.2. National benchmarks fell in all 17 western European markets that were open.

Advancers

British Energy Group, the U.K. biggest electricity generator, gained 1.5%. The company posted an 8.1% rise in full-year profit to 465 million pounds, or $921 million.

LogicaCMG rallied 4.3%. Permira Advisers LLP, Europe largest leveraged buyout fund, is examining a potential takeover bid for the U.K. company following news that Martin Read will step down as chief executive officer.

Unibail Holding, largest real estate investment trust in France, added 1.7%. Air France-KLM, the biggest European airline, climbed 1.5%. The companies are due to join the CAC 40 Index on June 18.

Decliners

Decliners with the greatest exposure to China included luxury goods groups. Richemont, the Swiss watch maker whose strong first-quarter profit growth was partly thanks to consumer strength in China, fell 1.4%. Christian Dior shed 1.5%, while LVMH, which is also targeting growth in China, fell 1.8%.

Spanish construction group FCC fell 2.4% over disappointment that its Realia property joint venture prices its initial public offering at 8.80 euros, only midway between the indicative range of 7.90euros to 9.70 euros.

Shares of Statoil lost 1.5%. Norway largest oil and gas producer said first-quarter profit fell 28 % to $1.27 billion on lower energy prices. GlaxoSmithKline declined 2.1%, its lowest in two years, after Merrill Lynch reduced its recommendation for the world second-largest drugmaker, to sell from neutral.

Commodities

Crude oil rose in New York before a report that may show U.S. refinery production will pick up too late to satisfy peak demand. An attack on a Nigerian pipeline helped push prices higher. Crude oil for July delivery was at $63.55 a barrel, up 40 cents, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude oil for July settlement was at $68.39 a barrel, up 29 cents, today on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.

Gold for immediate delivery in London gained 60 cents, or 0.1%, to $657.45 an ounce, while silver dropped 2.5 cents to $13.16 an ounce.

Currencies

The euro was down slightly against the U.S. dollar Wednesday following an unexpected rise in U.S. consumer confidence. The euro bought $1.3434 in morning European trading, down from $1.3453 in New York late Tuesday. The British pound slipped to $1.9783 from $1.9800, while the dollar edged up to 121.59 Japanese yen from 121.55 yen.