11:30AM The Dow hit an all-time high. The Nasdaq struck a 6-year peak.
U.S. stocks sharply jumped, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a new all-time high and the Nasdaq rising to a six-year peak. The Dow hit an all-time high of 12,181.43 and the Nasdaq rose as high as 2,391.34, its highest since February 2001. The broad rally was contributed by optimism over corporate earnings and the health of the economy which offset concerns about the outcome of the congressional elections. Analysts say that if the election results in political gridlock, that could be a near-term positive for stocks as there would likely be fewer government policy initiatives. Opinion polls show Democrats could take control of the House of Representatives from Republicans for the first time since 1994.

Boosting the Dow, shares of plane maker Boeing Co. (BA: chart) jumped almost 2% on news that Boeing will boost production rates for its new 787 long-range aircraft in response to higher-than-expected demand. The Nasdaq was boosted by network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO: chart), which rose 1.26% after brokerage UBS raised its price target for the stock. Toyota Motor Corp. (TM: chart) also helped lift stocks, as the automaker rose 1.7% on surging Q3 earnings by 34%. Another notable gainer was Emerson Electric Co. (EMR: chart), which jumped 7.8% after reporting a 26% jump in quarterly profit. Further boos was given by RealNetworks (ROK: chart) which surged 8% after it said Q3 profit nearly quadrupled on a strong demand for its games.

The markets benefited from continued strength among airline, semiconductor, and networking stocks. Altera (ALTR: chart) rose 5.9%, helping to lead the semiconductor sector higher after reporting Q3 earnings growth. In late morning trading, the Dow rose 63.95, or 0.53%, to 12,169.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.76, or 0.42%, to 1,385.54, and the Nasdaq composite index added 20.56, or 0.87%, to 2,386.51. Bonds gained, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.65% from 4.70% late Monday.


10:30AM The Sensex slips Tuesday on volatility in frontline large-caps.
The Sensex on BSE finished 30 points, or 0.23%, lower to 13,156.66. The market-breadth turned weak in late trading. As 1,390 shares declined on BSE, 1,124 advanced and 80 stocks were unchanged. For every 6 decliners there were 5 advancers. From the Sensex stocks, 10 advanced while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,714 crore, higher than Rs 4,265 crore on Monday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 9,066.78 crore.

Economic news

The National Council for Applied Economic Research has revised up its 2006/07 economic growth forecast to 8.1% from 7.9% previously due to good monsoon rains, robust exports and foreign investment inflows. Expressing satisfaction on the UPA government performance in the last 30 months, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the economy will continue to grow at more than 8% in the next few years.

The government is likely to consider reducing petrol and diesel prices if international crude oil prices fall below $52 a barrel.

The government also announced that amendments have been made to the emigration laws as part of a range of measures to protect Indian workers from exploitation by their employers abroad.

Advancers

Gujarat Ambuja led the advance on BSE, rising 2.07% to Rs 130.80. Software large-cap Infosys advanced 1.6% to Rs 2,105. Infosys shareholders today approved an issue of up to 30 million American Depositary Receipts before markets opened.

Housing finance company HDFC jumped 2.5% to Rs 1,566, continuing its recent gains, which have been triggered by expectations of growth in demand for housing loans. Dr Reddy’s Lab gained 2% to Rs 793. Last month, the company reported strong second-quarter results.

Metal shares rose tracking firm base metal prices on London Metal Exchange. Hindustan Zinc jumped 5% to Rs 987.60. Iron ore company Sesa Goa surged 6% to Rs 1,294, following a rally in mining stocks across global markets.

Hotel stocks were in focus on strong prospects in view of rising room rates and healthy occupancies. Indian Hotels gained 3% to Rs 148.75, Hotel Leelaventure rose 0.4% to Rs 64.65, EIH gained 5% to Rs 106 and Royal Orchid Hotels advanced 2% to Rs 190.95.

Decliners

Reliance Industries declined 1.4% to Rs 1,286.60, in contrast to the firm eariler trend when it had traded at about Rs 1,312. Shares of oil marketing firms sank as crude price surged. Indian Oil Corporation dipped 2.2% to Rs 505, BPCL slipped 3.3% to Rs 389.65 and HPCL lost 3.4% to Rs 310.

Auto stocks were under intense selling pressure. Bajaj Auto sagged 2.6% to end at Rs 2,720 and Hero Honda shed 3% to Rs 737. Car large-cap Maruti Udyog lost 1.2% to Rs 943.50, on reports that the ministry of commerce and industry had rejected the automaker’s application for granting special economic zone status for its manufacturing facility being developed at Manesar, together with Nissan.

Tata Steel declined 1.8% to Rs 496.50. Tata Steel is optimistic it will complete the agreed takeover of Corus Group by January. Consumer goods company, Hindustan Lever, finished flat at Rs 247.10.


9:45AM Stocks advanced at opening, awaiting the outcome of the Congressional elections.
Stocks advanced modestly at opening, as traders awaited the outcome of mid-term congressional elections that could be favorable for the Democrats. Toyota Motor (TM: chart) provided a boost in early trading after reporting quarterly profit up 34%. Applied Materials (AMAT: chart) helped tech stocks up after Bank of America raised its price target on the chip maker. The stock rose 2.35%. Dow component General Motors (GM: chart) also contributed to the upward move after it said in a SEC filing that its Q3 loss was reduced by $24 million, due to additional loan sales that had not been previously reported by its GMAC arm. The stock added 0.2%.