Sensex surges ahead during intraday

Mumbai, July 20 (UNI) The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index surged ahead by 86.18 points to reach 15636.31 by noon from it's previous close of 15550.13 after opening higher at 15625.63, boosted by strong Asian and US markets.

The broader National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty Index also advanced by 20.20 points to reach 4582.30 from it's previous close of 4562.10, after opening higher at 4563.75.

''Volatility is expected in the near term ahead of expiry of this month's derivatives contracts on Thursday,'' market analysts pointed out.

BSE data showed that the market breadth turned negative as 1,237 shares declined while 1,159 advanced and 72 remained unchanged. The total turnover amounted to Rs 2,024 crore so far. Among the Sensex pack, 19 advanced while the rest declined.

The early winners include Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications (RCom), Larsen and Toubro, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Energy.

On the other hand, the losers included Satyam Computer Services, HDFC Bank, ACC and Cipla.

Annual inflation data for the week ending July 7, this year, is expected by today afternoon. Inflation inched up to 4.27 per cent in the week ended June 30, 2007 due to an increase in prices of food articles and manufactured items.

All the Asian indices were trading higher, boosted by a record close on Wall Street, with Japanese rising on strong earnings reports from LG Electronics and Korea Zinc Inc. Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted, Singapore's Straits Times, Shanghai Composite and South Korea's Seoul Composite, posted gains in early trade.

Wall Street edged higher yesterday, taking the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) to its first close above 14,000 as investors kept jitters about the economy at bay and focused on a string of upbeat earnings reports. The Standard &Poor's 500 index also had a record close.

The Dow advanced 82.19 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 14,000.41.

Broader stock indicators also gained yesterday. The S&P 500 index gained 6.91 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 1553.08. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite index rose 20.55 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 2720.04, following the upbeat tech earnings.

UNI