(Repeats story filed on Tuesday) 
    MUMBAI, April 1 (Reuters) - India's stock futures ended 
higher on Tuesday on short covering, but analysts and traders 
were worried over low volumes, expecting the markets to remain 
illiquid in the absence of arbitrageurs. 
    Volumes fell in India's futures market as the new securities 
transaction tax (STT) scheme came into play. The change in STT, 
by treating the tax paid as a deductible expenditure against 
business income, would actually result in a higher outgo, traders 
said. 
    "The arbitrageurs decided not to participate. Volumes dipped 
quite a bit," said Aalap Shah, an analyst at Dolat Capital 
Market. 
    The derivatives market turnover stood at 3.6 billion rupees 
on Tuesday, compared with a total turnover of 4.7 billion rupees 
on Monday. 
    The Nifty April futures <NIFc1> moved to a premium of 33.4 
points to the 50-share NSE index <.NSEI>, compared with a 
discount of 2.2 points on Monday. 
    The Nifty April futures rose 0.86 percent to 4,772.95 points. 
The spot index rose just 0.11 percent to 4,739.55 points although 
selling was seen as investors were jittery about the outlook, 
with the government fighting to contain inflation. 
    Shah added that counters like Lanco, Suzlon, MRPL and 
Hindustan Oil Exploration showed some resilience in the market. 
"Even a small bit of buying brings it up because of the 
illiquidity. And they have also been hammered," he said. 
    "It was directionless today," Savio Shetty, analyst at 
Prabhudas Lilladher said. "We will see this trend for the next 
few days, we are exactly mirroring the world market...You'll have 
a lot of relief rallies." 
    Analysts see 4,420 as a support level for Nifty, while 4,800 
is seen as a resistance level. 
        TOP FIVE CONTRACTS BASED ON OPEN INTEREST 
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    COMPANY NAME                                   RICs 
         OPEN INT. 
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    Reliance Petroleum Ltd                        <RPETnsc1> 
     46199850 
    IFCI Ltd                                      <IFCInsc1> 
     36387870 
    NIFTY APR08                                   <NIFc1> 
        36381050 
    Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd           <TTMLnsc1> 
     33048125 
    Ispat Industries Ltd                          <ISPTnsc1> 
     28884000 
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    TOP %AGE INCREASE IN OPEN INTEREST 
    -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
    COMPANY NAME                                   RICs         CHG. %  
    -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
    Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited                     <ABRLnsc1>     41.00% 
    Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd                  <BHELnsc1>     39.01% 
    NIIT Ltd                                      <NIITnsc1>     25.00% 
    Sesa Goa Ltd                                  <SESAnsc1>     23.16% 
    Crompton Greaves Ltd                          <CROMnsc1>     20.00% 
   -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
    TOP %AGE DECREASE IN OPEN INTEREST 
    -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
   COMPANY NAME                                   RICs         CHG. % 
    -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
    Nicholas Piramal India Ltd                    <NICHnsc1>     11.32% 
    Jindal Saw                                    <JINDnsc1>     10.94% 
    Bajaj Hindustan Ltd                           <BJHNnsc1>      9.56% 
    Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd                 <COLGnsc1>      9.49% 
    Bajaj Auto Ltd                                <BJATnsc1>      7.96% 
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 (Reporting by Jasudha Kirpalani, Editing by Prem Udayabhanu) 
 (([email protected]; +91 22 6636 9028; Reuters Messaging: 
[email protected] )) 
Keywords: MARKETS INDIA DERIVATIVES/