The market witnessed volatility in the mid-morning trade. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was steady. ICICI Bank slipped. Reliance Energy edged higher. IT and banking stocks dipped. Consumer durables and realty stocks were in demand. 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.

The wholesale price index-based inflation data for the week ended 15 December 2007 will be released today.

At 11:20 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 4.80 points or 0.03% to 20210.15.

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 2.65 points or 0.04% to 6078.85.

Market breadth was strong. On BSE, 2042 shares advanced and 713 shares declined. 39 shares remained unchanged.

Indias largest private sector firm by market capitalization & oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 0.79% to Rs 2917.30.

The BSE Bankex was down 0.67% to 11,294.54. Indias largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank declined 1.29% to Rs 1225.

HDFC Bank declined 1.42% to Rs 1720, Oriental Bank of Commerce slipped 0.99% ot Rs 264.10, Punjab National Bank shed 0.88% to Rs 653.90 and Centurion Bank of Punjab 0.62% to Rs 55.90.

Among gainers, State Bank of India rose 0.31% to Rs 2390.05, Federal Bank jumped 4.33% to Rs 335, Union Bank of India gained 2.59% to Rs 208 and Canara Bank rose 1.32% to Rs 306.45.

The BSE IT index was down 0.51% to 4,545.76. Wipro slipped 2.77% to Rs 534.10, Satyam Computers declined 1.09% to Rs 446.50, TCS shed 0.74% to Rs 1092.05, and HCL Technologies fell 0.52% to Rs 316.65.

Indias second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies fell 0.52% to Rs 1795. The company declared during market hours today, 28 December 2007 that it would declare Q3 December 2007 results on 11 January 2008.

The BSE Consumer Durables index was up 2.48% to 6,496.31. Videocon Industries jumped 6.30% to Rs 726.80, Lloyd Electric & Engineering moved up 2.04% to Rs 204.60, Rajesh Exports gained 1.56% to Rs 886 and Titan Industries rose 1.43% to Rs 1500.

The BSE Realty index was up 0.95% to 12,194.55. Indias largest real estate firm by market capitalization DLF rose 0.74% to Rs 1017.55 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.

Indias second largest real estate firm by market capitalization Unitech rose 1.13% to Rs 469.65 on reports the company is making an aggressive entry into the booming realty market in the south. It is on the verge of announcing two joint development deals, involving over 1,400 acres of prime land in Hyderabad and Chennai.

Peninsula Land jumped 3% to Rs 141, Omaxe gained 2.54% to Rs 564.70, and Indiabulls Real Estate moved up 2.42% to Rs 725,

India's second largest power utility by revenue Reliance Energy gained 1.66% to Rs 2173.80 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.

Transformers and Rectifiers (India) was trading at Rs 722.50, a 55.80% premium over the IPO price of Rs 465. The The stock debuted at Rs 701.10 on BSE, a 50.77% premium over the IPO price.

Real estate developer Anant Raj Industries jumped 4.47% to Rs 348.50 on reports the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) has picked up a 8.5% stake in the company for an approximate Rs 400 crore, at Rs 1,220 per share.

Special steel and strips maker Bhushan Steel jumped 6.72% to Rs 1617.90 on reports Japan's Sumitomo Metal Industries has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bhushan Steel, whereby the Japanese company will assist the Indian counterpart in its proposed integrated steel plant in Orissa.

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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