10:30AM NY – 9:00PM Mumbai - The Sensex in India declines on the weakness in large caps.
The Sensex on BSE closed 143.21 points, or 1.02%, lower at 13,871.71. The market-breadth was strong as mid-caps and small-caps were in focus. There were almost three advancers for every two decliners on BSE. For 1,525 shares that advanced, 1,085 declined on and 65 stocks remained unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 24 declined, while the rest advanced. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,508 crore higher than Rs 4,312 crore on Wednesday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8,556.02 crore, compared to Rs 8,154.36 crore on Wednesday.

Economic news

The Hinduja group is likely to become the third bidder, alongside Reliance Communications Ltd. and Vodafone Group Plc for mobile phone operator Hutchison Essar Ltd. The price tag is rumored to be between $17billion and $20 billion. Hinduja official said that the Hinduja Group would like to buy at least 51% in the fourth-largest mobile phone operator in India.

Arcelor Mittal, the largest steel maker in the world, is to bid for a controlling stake in Indian iron ore exporter Sesa Goa Ltd. The company is valued at 80 billion rupees or $1.7 billion. Tata Steel, Sterlite and Jindal Steel & Power and Essar Steel are other companies reported to be seeking 51% stake in the company owned by Japanese conglomerate Mitsui Ltd. According to local newspapers Mitsui has appointed investment bankers to find a buyer for its stake.

The Indian cabinet approved on Thursday a levy exemption for ready-made garments in an effort to improve their competitiveness globally. The government has approved partial lifting of the ban on sugar exports as domestic prices fell and supply improved.

The Reserve Bank of India intends to allow financially strong cooperative banks in urban areas to open more branches and raise funds. The Reserve Bank will also encourage weaker banks to merge to help the consolidation process.

In trade today

Info Edge was the most-active stock with a turnover of Rs 120.60 crore followed by Unitech and Reliance Industries.

Advancers

Dr Reddy led the advancers, up 1.81% to Rs 823.15, on 2.89 lakh shares. L&T also gained 0.93% to Rs 1,490, for the second day in a row, following statement from the company on Wednesday that it had secured an overseas order worth over Rs 400 crore. Tata Motors added 0.90% to Rs 947.50, after the company ADR surged 6.1% on Wednesday to $21.69.

Shares of oil refineries ended higher as crude oil futures declined below $59 a barrel. HPCL advanced 4.08% to Rs 288, Indian Oil Corporation gained 4.46% to Rs 469.80 and BPCL was 1.95% higher to Rs 345. Indian Oil Corporation has sold oil bonds worth Rs 806 crore in the secondary market.

Outsourcing company Hinduja TMT advanced 2.24% to Rs 772.55 as it prepares to bid for a controlling stake in mobile phone operator Hutchison Essar.

Decliners

ITC led the decliners, down 3.76% to Rs 168.75. It had hit a high of Rs 176.85 in opening trade. The stock declined on the news of 10% plunge in wheat prices. Hero Honda shed 3% to Rs 755, Reliance Communications lost 1.96% to Rs 463.55 and BHEL dipped 1.15% to Rs 2,275

IT shares were under selling pressure after rallying for two days. Satyam Computer slipped 2.53% to Rs 502.10, as a block deal of 14.2 lakh shares was made in the stock on BSE at Rs 514.50. Other decliners included TCS off 0.92% to Rs 1,269.50, Wipro plunging 2.43% to Rs 605.25 and sector leader Infosys off 1.28% to Rs 2,283.

Index heavy Reliance Industries shed 0.34% to Rs 1,280.40 on 11.47 lakh shares.

Metal stocks declined on weaker metal prices globally. Copper and zinc lost 4% each on the MCX, as copper price fell below $6,000 per ton for the first time in eight months on the LME. Sterlite Industries was down 1.67% to Rs 538, Hindalco lost 3.12% to Rs 174, Jindal Stainless shed 3.56% to Rs 119, SAIL dipped 3.10% to Rs 89.40, and Hindustan Copper edged 0.60% lower to Rs 91.


9:45AM Market opened lower amid disappointing retail sales.
U. S. stocks started trading lower Thursday morning as disappointing monthly retail sales raised concerns about the outlook for corporate profits. Retail chains like Federated Department Store., Gap Inc., Limited Brands Inc., and Target Corp. posted lower-than-expected same-store sales during the month of December. Discount retailer Target Corp. (TGT: chart) said Thursday its December same-store sales rose 4.1%, slightly below the expected rise of 4.5%. Net sales rose 9% to $9.25 billion. For January, Target forecast a same-store sales gain of 3.5% to 5.5%. Hot Topic (HOTT: chart) stood out as a notable decliner, falling 18.3% after the apparel retailer cut its Q4 guidance due to weaker-than-expected December same-store sales.

The disk drive sector turned in one of the market's worst performances in morning trading. Komag (KOMG: chart) dropped 3.6% Adaptec (ADPT: chart) lost 1.1% and Hutchinson (HTCH: chart) slipped 3.5%, leading the sector down. Resource stocks showed considerable weakness, contributing to the early losses. Energy stocks moved further down, as the price of oil extended its recent decline, falling to $57 a barrel. Shares of Exxon (XOM: chart) declined 1.4%. Similarly, a continued decrease by the price of gold dragged down gold stocks. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.78, or 0.13%, to 12,458.74. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 4.27, or 0.30%, at 1,312.36, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 4.55, or 0.19%, to 2,418.61.