7:30AM NY-6:30PM Mumbai Sensex settles at record high on rally in banking, IT stocks.

The Sensex on BSE finished 81.61 points higher, or 0.55%, at 15,045.73.

The market-breadth was very strong as there were more than three advancers for every two decliners. As 1,610 stocks advanced, 1,055 declined and only 72 were unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 21 advanced, while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 4,551 crore as compared to Rs 5,878 on Friday. On NSE, the turnover amounted to Rs 9,762 crore, also much lower than 12,038 crore on Friday.

Economic news

India, which is the second largest producer of sugar in the world, is considering doubling the amount of sugar export in 2008 on domestic surplus, putting further pressure on domestic prices. India may export as much as 3 million tons next year.

The rupee was little changed today, already hovering at near nine-year highs, triggering speculation on the market that the Reserve Bank of India may intervene through state-owned banks to stop a drop in exports. The IT sector is the most vulnerable to the rupee’s rise.

Premier Oil, a U.K. explorer, made a discovery of either oil or gas in India''s northeastern state of Assam. The find is in the Cachar area, 320 kilometers from the state''s main city Guwahati, The company did not disclose the size of the discovery or whether it found oil or gas.

Trading highlights

New issue Roman Tarmat was the most active stock on the market with a turnover of Rs 269 crore followed by Vishal Retail and Divi''s Labs.

Advancers

Reliance Energy soared 3% to Rs 616. Reportedly Reliance Energy headed a consortium which won the Rs 6,400 crore business district project proposed in Hyderabad by the state-owned Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation. Reliance holds 66% in the project, to be completed in five years.

The prospect of the Reserve Bank of India reducing the cash reserve ratio in near future boosted banking shares. Union Bank of India rallied 12.1% to Rs 145.60, State Bank of India was up 1.5% to Rs 1,573, HDFC Bank gained 1.6% to Rs 1,171, and Bank of India rose 3.6% to Rs 230.

Larsen & Toubro and ONGC rallied around 2% each to Rs 2,416 and Rs 896, respectively. L&T intends to take three more companies, operating in infratech, infotech and finance, to the primary market in an effort to reorganize its corporate structure. Other gainers included Bharti Airtel which finished up 1.7% to Rs 881.

IT stocks surged on a rally in their ADRs on Friday, July 6 J 2007, and ahead of Q1 June 2007 results. Infosys Technologies advanced 1% to Rs 1,993, Wipro also added 1.1% to Rs 524, and TCS was up 1.5% to Rs 1,177. Infosys reports its first-quarter June 2007 results on Wednesday, July 11 2007.

Decliners

Hindustan Unilever led the decliners, plunging over 2.3% to Rs 195 on profit taking. ICICI Bank also dipped over 1.1% to Rs 970. The bank continued to be under heavy selling pressure for the second straight day. The stock lost after it reduced home loans rates under Rs 20 lakh for new customers by 50 basis points.

Mahindra & Mahindra shed 1% to Rs 779, replacing Hero Honda Motors in BSE Sensex from today. Index heavy Relance Industries finished virtually flat, down 0.03% to Rs 1,711.

6:30AM European stocks markets gain on miners, Numico, Rolls-Royce.

European markets were higher in mid-day on Monday. The U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 0.4% at 6,719.40, the German DAX Xetra 30 index advanced 0.6% at 8,098.43 and the French CAC-40 index inched up 0.3% at 6,121.22. National benchmarks advanced in all of the 17 western European markets that were open, except Spain.

Advancers