The market firmed further abd the Sensex was eyeing 13,200, as buying for blue-chips began.
At 11:30 IST the Sensex was up 40.41 points, at 13,177.90. It opened firm at 13,187.51, and surged to a high of 13,190.84, as buying continued. However, selling began at that level and continued up to 13,104.98.
The market-breadth was strong on BSE, with 1,255 shares advancing, compared to 864 that declined. As many as 61 scrips remained unchanged. The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1,650 crore. Among the Sensex pack, 18 advanced while the rest declined.
REL was the top gainer, up 3.41% to Rs 530.15, on a volume of 2.82 lakh shares. It moved in a range of Rs 507 – Rs 531.50.
Banking stocks were in flavour on renewed buying. ICICI Bank (up 2.25% to Rs 816.25), HDFC Bank (up 2.24% to Rs 1,040) and SBI (up 0.71% to Rs 1,138.50) advanced.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 0.20%, at Rs 1,264 on 16.30 lakh shares. Reliance Industries (RIL) said on Thursday its board had approved raising up to $2 billion through loans and bond issues, or a combination of fund-raising instruments.
Satyam Compurters was the top loser, down 1.05% to Rs 423.50, on a volume of 3.60 lakh shares.
Among side-counters, NDTV lost 1% to Rs 228, after NSE barred further F&O positions in the company as the 95% marketwide position limit has been breached in the counter.
Indian Hotels rose 1% to Rs 150, after the top-luxury chain said late on Thursday, it had agreed to buy the Ritz-Carlton Boston hotel in the United States for $170 million.
Foreign funds, who hold considerable sway on domestic sentiment, were net sellers of $1.4 million on Wednesday, their first day of net sales in November 2006. FII-inflow in calendar 2006 so far, has reached $7.14 billion. The inflows are strong, coming as they are on the back of a record annual inflow of $ 10.7 billion in 2005. The inflow aggregated $6.59 billion in 2003 and $8.5 billion in 2004.
US stocks fell for the first time in three days on Thursday, led by a drop in the shares of big drug makers and health-care companies as investors worried that a Democrat-controlled Congress may curb prices. A jump of more than 2% in crude price and a weaker-than-expected reading in a gauge of consumer sentiment added to the weaker tone. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 73.24 points, or 0.60%, to close at 12,103.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 8.93 points, or 0.37%, to end at 2,376.01.
Oil was steady above $61 a barrel after surging more than 2 percent on Thursday. OPEC is lowering output and members have said it may cut supply further in December -- as demand is nearing its seasonal peak due to the Northern winter.