Carmakers ended mixed. Hero Honda gained 1.2% to Rs 765. Honda Motors said on Wednesday it sold 3,63,480 units in October 2006, up 20.4% from 3,02,012 in the same month last year.

Decliners

Auto large-cap Maruti Udyog finished flat at Rs 968.25. Maruti Udyog announced on Wednesday it sold 60,163 vehicles in October, up 16.7% from 51,543 units in the same month last year. Bajaj Auto shed 0.2% to Rs 2,744. The company stated on Wednesday its total vehicle sales in October 2006 advanced 15.6% to 2,79,578 units from 2,41,808 units a year earlier.

HDFC led the decliners slipping nearly 3% to Rs 1,428. ONGC was down Rs 12 to end at Rs 804. JSW Steel lost 2.2% to Rs 332. The company reported on Wednesday it had raised prices of galvanised steel by Rs 1,000 a tonne from Nov 1., because of a sharp rise in zinc prices in international markets.

Tata Steel Ltd. shares ended 0.1% lower at Rs 489.95. The top steel maker of India on Wednesday denied a newspaper report that it may make a bid for Companhia Siderurgica Nacional of Brazil.

Other news

The manufacturing sector of India grew in October at its fastest pace since a purchasing managers survey was introduced in April 2005, indicating recent monetary tightening has done little to dampen demand in the economy.

Cairn Energy, UK today announced it will raise at least $1.8 billion from the proposed initial public offering of its Indian operations in December.


[R]9:45AM Market opened up on MasterCard earnings and jobs forecast.[/R]
Better-than-expected earnings from MasterCard Inc. and an upbeat forecast for private-sector employment in October generated positive sentiment in early Wednesday trading. ADP-Macroeconomic Advisers said it anticipates a 128,000 more private-sector jobs when the Labor Department reports payroll figures Friday. Deal talks about a combination of pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx Inc. (CMS: chart) and drugstore chain CVS Corp. (CVS: chart) also contributed to the upside move after two lackluster sessions. A deal is likely to be worth more than $21 billion.

MasterCard Inc. (MA: chart), owner of the nation''s second-largest credit card brand, reported 82% profit jump in Q3, due to an improved revenue and a higher number of purchases worldwide. The company earned $1.42 per share, up from 79 cents a share, a year earlier when MasterCard was a private entity owned by the nation''s largest banks. Revenue rose 13.9% to $902 million from $791.6 million a year ago. The quarterly results exceeded expectations of $1.07 in earnings per share on $871.2 million in revenue. Company’s shares surged 16%.

In early trading, the gold sector showed significant strength as the price of gold climbed back. Health insurance stocks also posted some early strength, with Cigna (CI: chart) helping to lead the sector higher, up 5.9% after reporting strong Q3 earnings and forecasting full year earnings above analyst estimates. In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 35.38, or 0.29%, to 12,117.31. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 3.58, or 0.26%, to 1,381.52, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.51, or 0.28%, to 2,373.22. Bonds were flat, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note at 4.61%.


[R]9:30AM The FTSE 100 advances by lunchtime Wednesday on miners.[/R]
The FTSE 100 in London extended its early gains to trade 22 points, or 0.4%, higher at 6,151.2.

Advancers

Cairn Energy unveiled plans to raise about $1.8 billion from the sale of 30.5% of its Indian operations. The proceeds will be used to fund ongoing operations but some will also be returned to shareholders. The oil exploration company rose 1.4%.

Xstrata rose 2.8% while Lonmin added 2.4%. BHP Billiton was 2.1% higher while Rio Tinto rose 1.4% with Vedanta Resources up 0.3%.

St James Place Capital gained 4.3% after the wealth manager said total new business rose 58% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year.

Among the mid-caps, the tour operator MyTravel rose 0.3% after it confirmed its expectations to return to profit this year despite a 9.5% fall in winter holiday bookings.

Decliners