The market was range bound in the early afternoon trade. Ranbaxy Laboratories moved up. Bharti Airtel slipped. Auto and IT stocks slipped. Market breadth was strong. 17 out of 30 shares from the Sensex pack were in green.

Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, were weak after the assassination of Pakistans opposition party leader Benazir Bhutto in nuclear-armed Pakistan increased geopolitical uncertainties. Bhutto was killed on Thursday, 27 December 2007, at a rally in Rawalpindi, raising fears of instability in Pakistan.

India's wholesale price index rose 3.45% in the 12 months to 15 December 2007, lower than the previous week's rise of 3.65%, government data showed on Friday, 28 December 2007. The annual inflation rate was 5.73% during the corresponding week of the previous year. The wholesale price index is more closely watched than the consumer price index, which is published monthly, because it covers a higher number of products and is published weekly.

At 12:20 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 23.71 points or 0.12% to 20,193.01.

The market witnessed a bout of volatility at the onset of the trading session. Sensex hit a low of 20032.35 in early trade. At day's low, Sensex lost 184.37. Sensex hit a high of 20,259.45 in early trade. At day's high, Sensex rose 42.73.

The broader CNX S&P; Nifty was down 16.95 points or 0.28% to 6064.55.

Market breadth was strong. On BSE, 2157 shares advanced and 699 shares declined. 26 shares remained unchanged.

Indias largest private sector firm by market capitalization & oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 0.58% to Rs 2911.

Indias largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank fell 0.64% to Rs 1234.05.

India's biggest drug maker by sales Ranbaxy Laboratories jumped 1.96% to Rs 419.55 after it received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for galantamine hydrobromide oral solution.

Indias largest real estate firm by market capitalization DLF moved up 1.59% to Rs 1026.15 on reports the firm plans to raise $5 billion over the next three years by listing five of its business units, including DLF Homes, DLF Retail, DLF Hotels, DLF Utilities and DLF Infrastructure. There are no plans to further dilute equity in group flagship DLF.

India's second largest power utility by revenue Reliance Energy gained 1.80% to Rs 2173 on reports Reliance Power in which it holds 50% stake, has edged closer to its mega initial public issue. As per reports, a two-member panel of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) office directed that 20% of the equity held the promoter group be locked in for a period of five years, instead of the mandatory three years as per the guidelines on IPOs.

Ambuja Cements rose 1.31% to Rs 147.10 and Tata Steel moved up 1.29% to Rs 918.

Bharti Airtel slipped 1.87% to Rs 949.50, HDFC Bank declined 1.20% to Rs 1724, ONGC shed 0.71% to Rs 1232, and Cipla fell 0.37% to Rs 214.90.

The BSE Auto index was down 0.28% to 5,590.79. Tata Motors fell 0.77% to Rs 731, Maruti Suzuki slipped 0.52% to Rs 989.40, Exide Industries declined 1.52% to Rs 74.45, and Escorts shed 0.41% to Rs 174.

India's second largest motorbike maker by sales Bajaj Auto fell 1.40% to Rs 2635. As per reports, Japan's Yamaha could team up with Bajaj Auto as part of its restructuring plan for India. This may then take the form of a new joint venture company where Bajaj will use one of its plants to create a common engine platform for high-end bikes.

The BSE IT index was down 0.67% to 4,538.58. Wipro skid 2.53% to Rs 535.40, TCS fell 0.93% to Rs 1090, and HCL Technologies fell 0.63% to Rs 306.30.

Indias second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies fell 0.79% to Rs 1790.10. The company said during market hours today, 28 December 2007, it would unveil Q3 December 2007 results on 11 January 2008.

The December 2007 derivative contracts expired yesterday, 26 December 2007. As per reports, Nifty rollover from December 2007 series to January 2008 series stood at 81% while total marketwide rollover stood at 85%, as on Thursday, 27 December 2007. This compared to Nifty rollover 76% from November 2007 series to December 2007 and marketwide rollover of 83% from November 2007 series to December 2007 series.

Asian stocks were trading lower today, 28 December 2007. Key indices in Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong were down between 0.41% to 1.65%. However, Taiwans Taiwan Weighted index was up 1%.

US markets declined on Thursday, 27 December 2007, on news of Benazir Bhutto's assassination. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 192.08 points, or 1.42%, to 13,359.61. Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 21.39 points, or 1.43%, to 1,476.27, and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 47.62, or 1.75%, to 2,676.79.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 24.20 points or 0.12% to 20,216.72 on Thursday 27 December 2007. The broader CNX S&P; Nifty rose 10.75 points or 0.18% to 6081.50 on that day.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 702.64 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of shares worth Rs 787.92 crore on Thursday, 27 December 2007.

FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 3.56 crore in the futures & options segment on Thursday, 27 December 2007. FIIs were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 350.02 crore and bought index options worth Rs 966.32 crore. They were net sellers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 1,318.11 crore and sold stock options worth Rs 1.80 crore.

Crude oil was unchanged today, 28 December 2007 around $97 a barrel as an Energy Department report showed that US inventories fell more than expected. Crude oil for February delivery was at $96.91 a barrel, up 29 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for February settlement was at $95.11 a barrel, up 33 cents in London.

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