Sensex opens 152 pts up

Sensex gained nearly 153 pts in last session,added 151.98 points,to 16,335.24.

The BSE benchmark Sensex today rose by nearly 152 points in early trade,extending gains for the fourth straight session on buying by funds and retail investors as rupee recovered from record lows and gained 17 paise against the US dollar in forex market.

In addition,a firming trend on other Asian bourses also buoyed the trading sentiment here.

The 30-share barometer,which gained nearly 153 points in the previous session,added 151.98 points,or 0.94 per cent,to 16,335.24.

All sectoral indices,led by capital goods and consumer durables,were trading in the positive zone with gains of up to 1.37 per cent.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 43.55 points,or 0.89 per cent,to 4,949.60.

Brokers said rupee bouncing back to 54.86 in early trade,which had plunged to all-time low of 55.04 in yesterday8217;s trade against the dollar and a firming trend on other Asian markets following overnight gains in the US stocks,boosted the trading sentiment here.

Meanwhile in the Asian region,Hong Kong8217;s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.61 per cent and Japan8217;s Nikkei Index by 1.02 per cent in morning trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.09 per cent higher in yesterday8217;s trade after upbeat housing data and stronger-than-expected corporate earnings.

Preopen: Sensex to Watch

GLOBAL MARKETS

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The near-month derivative contract for India8217;s NSE index at Singapore Exchange rose 1.2 percent,while MSCI Asia ex-Japan rose 1.15 percent.

Asian markets kept gains on Tuesday after reclaiming some ground to move off lows for the year the day before,as hopes grew that Europe would embark on fresh action to address its debt crisis while promoting growth.

US stocks rose more than 1 percent on Monday,with the Samp;P 500 snapping a six-day losing streak in a rebound from equities8217; biggest weekly drop in almost six months,but Facebook slumped in its second session after a disappointing debut.

FACTORS TO WATCH

Vodafone Group Plc8217;s Indian unit has called a news conference in Mumbai to discuss its Jan-March quarter earnings.

Earnings: Tata Power,Power Finance Corp ,Tata Communications

INDIAN STOCKS TO WATCH

EARNINGS/DEALS

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Canada8217;s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd will buy Thomas Cook Group Plc8217;s 77 percent stake in its India operations for about 150 million,as the UK holiday firm continues to pay down its debt.

Zee Entertainment Jan-March net profit fell 19 percent to 1.6 billion rupees from a year ago

ENERGY/COMMODITIES

India8217;s state-run upstream oil firms will bear nearly 40 percent of the 1.38 trillion rupee 25 billion cost of retail fuel subsidies for the 2011/12 year,a government source said on Monday.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC,Oil India Ltd and GAIL India sell refined products and crude oil to state fuel retailers at a discount. Government also provides a cash subsidy to cover some of their losses.

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State-owned Indian steel maker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd has filed a draft prospectus for an initial public offer,involving a 10 percent stake sale by the government.

MRPL has got a crude cargo insured by an Iranian firm,the first state refiner to do so,after local firms refused cover even before European Union sanctions barring such deals start in July,sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The law ministry has said gas prices should be determined by the ministerial panel looking into the issue rather than a statutory agency such as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Body PNGRB. Mint

MMTC Ltd has bought 26,000 tonnes of RBD palmolein at 1,059 per tonne,trade and government sources said on Monday,lower than the last known price paid by the state- run trading company.

FINANCIAL

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The much-awaited White Paper on black money tabled in Parliament on Monday mooted an immunity scheme as a one-time option to encourage Indians to bring back money stashed abroad.

India8217;s top three fund houses 8211; HDFC Mutual,Reliance Asset Management and ICICI-Prudential Mutual Fund 8211; have posted 5-22 percent growth in profits in the last financial year.

TELECOMS

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has concluded the increase in costs of wireless operators under its proposed pricing system would range between four paise and six paise per minute in the first year-2012-13-of the 20-year peri

INDUSTRIAL

Alok Industries Ltd,one of India8217;s largest textile firms,has sold eight out of the 20 floors in an office building in Mumbai8217;s Lower Parel area to various firms,managing director Dilip Jiwarajka said in a call with analysts on Monday.

OTHER FACTORS TO WATCH

Indian debt/FX factors to watch

Euro firm ahead of EU summit,tackles resistance

Oil rises on China calls for growth,Iran

Foreign institutional investor flows

For closing rates of Indian ADRs