Infosys, the second-biggest software exporter in India, gained Rs 75.1, or 3.6%, to Rs 2,153.5. Satyam Computer Services Ltd, the fourth-biggest software company, advanced 5.5%, to Rs 435.1. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, the largest computer-services provider in India, rose Rs 67.15, or 5.7%, to Rs 1,255.6. Moreover, Satyam Computer Services BPO subsidiary, Nipuna Services, set up its fourth facility at Hyderabad. The Hyderabad facility will offer integrated service delivery across industries and processes, and will accommodate three shifts.

Reliance Communications surged 5.1% to Rs 428.20, on expectations of a reduction in annual license fees for wireless services in the coming months. Bharti Airtel added 1.1% to Rs 726.90, on similar hopes.

L&T surged 3.5% to Rs 1,541. The company stock had plunged on Wednesday on a broad drop in construction shares after the removal of tax benefit under section 80 IA to companies engaged in civil construction work. However, L&T pays corporate tax at the regular rate for its construction business, the company is not likely to suffer from this withdrawal of tax exemption for civil construction firms.

Other gainers included HDFC Bank, up 5.2% to Rs 981.1. ICICI Bank gained nearly 3% to Rs 855. Tata Steel advanced 2% to Rs 452. Ranbaxy and NTPC ended up over 1.5% each to Rs 343 and Rs 142, respectively.

Index heavy Reliance Industries saw great volatility today but managed to end in positive territory. It settled 0.87% higher, at Rs 1,366.35, on a volume of 15.09 lakh shares.

Decliners

Cement companies led the decliners today. ACC Ltd plunged after Merrill Lynch reduced its rating on the stock on the government proposal to raise taxes on the building material. The government hiked the excise tax by 50% to Rs 600 a ton on cement sold at more than Rs 190 a 50- kilogram bag. ACC, the largest cement producer in India, fell 2.6%, to Rs 876.55, while Gujarat Ambuja Cements, lost 3.6%, to Rs 111.75.

Auto stocks also underperformed today. Bajaj Auto fell 3.9%, to Rs 2,514.1. The second-biggest motorcycle maker in India reported a 1.7% decrease in sales of motorcycles in February. Maruti Udyog plunged sharply from its high of Rs 870 for the day, and ended 0.32% lower at Rs 837.


6:30AM Europe rebounds Thursday as financial stocks gain ground.
European markets were modestly higher on Thursday. Frankfurt Xetra Dax was up 0.5% to 6,747.46, the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.5% higher at 5,542.31 and London FTSE climbed 0.8% to 6,222.7.

Advancers

Swiss Re advanced 4.5% after the reinsurer reported full-year net profit increased twice on lower claims and the acquisition of the reinsurance division of General Electric. Munich Re, whose in-line results were overlooked in the sell-off the previous session, gained 0.8% after a price target upgrade by Lehman Brothers.

A number of emerging markets mounted rallies, helping lift the financial stocks with the most exposure to them. Raiffeisen International and Erste Bank, the Austrian rivals, both of which have operations across central and eastern Europe, gained 3.6% and 3.4% respectively.

Recent pledges on renewable energy sources helped lift producers of solar energy equipment. Renewable Energy Corp, the Norwegian maker of solar panels, gained 4.4%, while German rival Q-Cells gained 2.8%. Acciona, the Spanish builder and investor in wind energy, gained 2.2%. Eon, the German group whose 41 billion euros bid for Endesa now looks to be in some doubt, edged 0.4% higher.

Decliners

Deutsche Telekom declined 2.3% after posting a 43% drop in full-year net profit and reducing forecasts for core earnings this year. The company announced it would help drive future growth through foreign acquisitions, possibly part funded by the sale of non-core European assets.

Oil and gold

Oil prices declined slightly Thursday as traders responded to gains a day earlier caused by a report showing dropping U.S. crude inventories. Crude oil for April delivery fell 11 cents to $61.68 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold opened Thursday at a bid price of $668.80 a troy ounce, down from $680.60 late Wednesday.

Currencies

The euro was stronger against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as some markets in parts of the world appeared to shake off a slump earlier this week. The euro bought $1.3233, compared with the $1.3216 it bought in New York late Wednesday. The British pound edged up Thursday to $1.9605 from $1.9594. The dollar rose to 118.39 Japanese yen from 118.12 yen.