The market edged higher taking cue from firm Asian equities. Metal, power, consumer durables and FMCG stocks were in demand. Key indices in Asia, except Japan, were in green. Market breadth was strong. 28 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were in green.

At 10:20 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was up 283.24 points or 1.48% to 19,362.88. Sensex hit a high of 19,397.76 in early trade, a gain of 318.12 points.

The broader CNX S&P; Nifty was up 92.60 points or 1.61% to 5834.90.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 2.33% to 9,305.43. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 2.81% to 12,150.36.

The market breadth was strong. 2089 shares advanced as compared to 253 that declined. 14 shares were unchanged.

Indias largest private sector firm by market capitalization & oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 1.18% to Rs 2761.

Indias largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank rose 2.13% to Rs 1165.

Indias second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies rose 1.20% to Rs 1640.

Reliance Energy rose 3.69% to Rs 1874, ONGC gained 3.29% to Rs 1187, Tata Steel edged up 3.02% to Rs 841.65, ITC climbed 3.18% to Rs 199.80 and Bharat Heavy Electricals flared up 2450.

Wipro declined 0.16% to Rs 482.90 and Hindustan Unilever fell 0.17% to Rs 210.85.

Asian stocks edged higher today, 19 December 2007, tracking overnight gain in US stocks. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China were up by between 1.05% to 2.05%. However, Japans Nikkei 225 was down 0.51%.

US stocks rose on Tuesday, 18 December 2007, as investors bought beaten-down shares of technology heavyweights such as IBM and Microsoft Corp on hopes that the tech sector would weather the impact of the credit crisis. An upbeat profit forecast from design software maker Adobe Systems Inc lifted optimism in the tech sector, a day after the Nasdaq slid more than 2%.

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 65.27 points, or 0.50%, to 13,232.47. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 9.08 points, or 0.63%, to close at 1,454.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 21.57 points, or 0.84%, at 2,596.03, snapping a three-day losing streak.

Wall Street gains were also helped by optimism on an easing of the subprime credit crunch after a cash injection by the European Central Bank as part of the effort by global central banks to shore up credit markets.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 2736.48 crore on Tuesday. Domestic institutions bought shares worth a net Rs 659.15 crore on that day.

FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,077.36 crore in the futures & options segment on Tuesday. According to data released by the NSE, FIIs were net sellers of index futures to the tune of Rs 1,080.14 crore and bought index options worth Rs 749.07 crore. They were net sellers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 746.30 crore.

Fall in index heavyweights pulled Sensex down 181.71 points or 0.94% to 19,079.64, on Tuesday 18 December 2007.

Volatility may remain high in the near term ahead of expiry of December 2007 derivatives contracts next Thursday, 27 December 2007. The market remains closed on Friday, 21 December 2007 on account of Bakri Id and also on Tuesday, 25 December 2007 on account of Christmas. Therefore, only five trading sessions are left for expiry of December 2007 derivatives contracts.

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