7:30AM NY-6:30PM Mumbai Sensex sheds 36 points, Tata Motors rallies, the rupee advances.

The Sensex on BSE finished 35.85 points lower, or 0.24%, at 15,009.88.

The benchmark index opened 54 points higher at 15,100.13 and rallied to a record high of 15,114.95 in morning trading, a gain of 69.22 points for the day. It dropped to a low of 14,966.40 in early afternoon trading.

The market-breadth was positive in the morning, but turned strongly negative in the latter part of the session. Of the 2,710 stocks traded on the market, 1,170 advanced, while 1,467 declined and only 73 were unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 14 advanced, while 16 declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 5,024 crore, higher than Rs 4,845 crore on Monday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 10,720 crore, compared to Rs 9,762 crore on Monday.

Economic news

The Indian rupee edged higher towards a nine-year high as there is some speculation that overseas funds will buy more local equities as the economy expands. In early trade, the rupee stood at 40.39 per dollar, up from 40.423 on Monday, and close to a nine-year high of 40.28 struck in late May 2007.

Trading highlights

ICRA was the most active stock with a turnover of Rs 186.50 crore followed by Orbit Corporation and DLF.

Tomorrow might be a crucial day for the markets with all eyes set on the Infosys as the company releases its Q1 results.

Advancers of the Day

Tata Motors rallied 4% to Rs 745 and was the leading gainer on reports that the company may list its profit-making arms.

Auto shares surged on expectations that the RBI will not raise interest rates in near future, as 50% to 75% of sales in the auto sector are derived from loan funds. Maruti surged 2.4% to Rs 813. Mahindra & Mahindra advanced 1.2% to Rs 788 and Bajaj Auto ended up 1.1% to Rs 2,128.

IT stocks also rallied, as the market considered the IT sector performance as being underestimated recently, given the strong core potential of the tech shares. Infosys advanced 1.3% to Rs 2,020. Satyam added 1% to Rs 497.

Decliners of the Day

Banking, cement and telecom shares were under pressure today. Reliance Communications led the decliners plunging 1.8% to Rs 543 and HDFC Bank dipped 1.7% to Rs 1,148.

In cement stocks, Grasim lost 1.5% to Rs 2,727 and Ambuja Cements dropped 1.4% to Rs 130. Engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro shed 1.1% to Rs 2,389 although it won a Rs 542-crore order from Indian Oil Corporation.

SBI slipped 1.3% to Rs 1,551 and Bharti Airtel also dropped nearly 1.3% to Rs 872. Index heavy Reliance Industries lost 0.5% to Rs 1,702.

6:30AM European markets are lower Tuesday dragged by poor performance by Home Depot.

All three major bourses were lower on Tuesday.

In London, FTSE 100 shed 0.2% at 6,700.80. U.K. stocks fell, led by Antofagasta, Xstrata and BHP Billiton Ltd. as copper prices reversed earlier gains in Asia. BHP Billiton dropped 1.2%. Marks & Spencer Group limited declines after the company beat analysts estimates and advanced 2.9%. Next also advanced 1.3%. Unilever climbed 3.7% amid takeovers in the food industry. Wolseley slipped 2.3% after U.S.-based Home Depot lowered its profit forecast.