India stock markets soared on Wednesday with the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty touching new all-time record highs.

The Sensex opened 9 points higher at 6,334, which was also the low for the index for the day. Sustained buying saw the index zoom to a new high of 6,423 -- a gain of 98 points from the previous close.

Profit-taking at higher levels saw the index shed some ground, and finally finish the day with a gain of 77 points at 6,402.

The Nifty closed at a new high of 2,028 -- a gain of 21 points.

Foreign institutional investments in equities soared by 43 per cent to over $9.43 billion this year pushing the Sensex to a record high of 6,402. The inflows have been more than $9.6 billion dollar till December 14 if FII investments in government securities and treasury bills are added, according to figures compiled by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

The net investments of the FIIs in shares of Indian companies stood at $9.426 billion or about Rs 42,834 crore since January 2004. In 2003, the FII investments aggregated $6.5 billion or Rs 30,459 crore.While 26 Sensex stocks advanced with a volume of 1.88 crore shares totalling Rs 746 crore, four declined with a volume of 36 lakh shares for Rs 172 crore.

Zee was the biggest gainer among the Sensex scrips today. The stock zoomed more than 11% (Rs 18) to Rs 178.

Bharti vaulted 6% (Rs 12) to Rs 212.

BHEL advanced nearly 3% (Rs 21) to Rs 724.  Ranbaxy gained more than 4% (Rs 49) to Rs 1,269. Cipla and Dr. Reddy's also closed at higher levels today.

Auto scrips attracted fresh buying interest. Maruti zoomed more than 4% (Rs 18) to Rs 459. Bajaj Auto moved up 3% (Rs 30) to Rs 1,053. Hero Honda was up 2% (Rs 10) at Rs 517. Tata Motors was up 1.5% (Rs 7) at Rs 494.

Infosys gained over 2% (Rs 46) to close at Rs 2,097. HLL was up Rs 4 at Rs 149. ITC was marginally higher at Rs 1,280. SBI was up a rupee at Rs 604.

Reliance, however, declined more than 2% (Rs 10) to Rs 495.

L&T jumped more than 4% (Rs 39) to Rs 948. Hindalco added Rs 23 to close at Rs 1,295. HDFC was up Rs 7 at Rs 795. Wipro was up Rs 10 at Rs 764.

Sensex @ 1500 hrs

The Sensex moved up further to touch a high of 6,423, and is now up 91 points at 6,416 on buying spree in old and new economy stocks. The Nifty is steady at 2,031 - up 24 points.

The breadth of the market is slightly uppish. While 1,212 stocks have advanced, 1,160 declined and 58 have remained unchanged.

Zee, on a volume of over 39.45 lakh, has zoomed 15% (Rs 24) to Rs 184.

HLL has added 2.32% (Rs 3) to Rs 148, and ITC is up a per cent (Rs 10) at Rs 1,290. Reliance, however, is still subdued at Rs 501 - down Rs 4.

Infosys is trading firm with a gain of 2.28% (Rs 47) at Rs 2,098. Wipro (up Rs 16 or 2% to Rs 770) and Satyam (up Rs 7 or 1.65%) are holding on to their gains.

Maruti has moved up 3.78% (Rs 17) to Rs 458. While Bajaj has jumped 3.23% (Rs 33) to Rs 1,055, Tata Motors is up 1.23% (Rs 6) at Rs 493. Hero Honda at Rs 515 (up Rs 8 or 1.52%) is also trading at higher levels.

Bharti, with a volume of over 29 lakh, has scaled up 5.68% (Rs 11) to Rs 211. While L&T has spurted 4.46% (Rs 40) to Rs 949, Hindalco has gained 1.18% (Rs 15) to Rs 1,287.

Ranbaxy has advanced nearly 4% (Rs 47) to Rs 1,267. While Dr. Reddy's has clocked a per cent gain (Rs 8) to Rs 826, Cipla is up 1.71% (Rs 5) at Rs 291.

MRF has hit the 5% upper limit of the circuit breaker at Rs 2,572 - up Rs 122.

NPTC (75.67 lakh) is leading the volume pack, followed by SAIL (48.14 lakh), Vijaya Bank (34.10 lakh), respectively.

Sensex @ 1330 hrs

The market is witnessing a steep rally in the afternoon trades as buying has picked up in old and new economy stocks. The Sensex has breached the 6,400-mark to touch a high of 6,420, and is up 88 points at 6,413.

The Nifty has added 25 points to 2,032.

The market breadth is still positive. While 1,359 stocks have advanced, 925 declined and 65 have remained unchanged.

Infosys has advanced 2.79% (Rs 57) to Rs 2,108. While Wipro has moved up 2.10% (Rs 16) to Rs 770, Satyam has gained nearly 2% (Rs 8) to Rs 419.

Bharti has spurted 4.78% (Rs 10) to Rs 209. While L&T has scaled up 4.70% (Rs 43) to Rs 951, Zee is up 2.56% (Rs 4) at Rs 164.

While HLL is up 2.35% (Rs 3) at Rs 148, ITC is up a per cent (Rs 12) at Rs 1,292. Reliance is subdued with a per cent loss (Rs 4) at Rs 501.

SBI has moved up a per cent (Rs 6) to Rs 609. Other banking stocks are trading with modest gains.

Bajaj is still up 1.32% (Rs 13) at Rs 1,036, and Hero Honda has gained 1.76% (Rs 9) to Rs 516. While Maruti has added 2.36% (Rs 10) to Rs 452, Tata Motors is up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 491.

Ranbaxy is trading firm with a gain of 3.43% (Rs 42) at Rs 1,262. Dr. Reddy's at Rs 829 (up Rs 10 or 1.24%) and Cipla at Rs 291 (up Rs 5 or 1.64%) are trading with decent gains.

Tata Tele continues to lead the volume table with over 1.5 lakh shares traded on the BSE so far. NTPC follows with a volume of over 44.73 lakh, Essar Steel (40.22 lakh) and SAIL (34.12 lakh), respectively.

Sensex @ 1235 hrs

The market has gained momentum following strong upsurge in select heavyweight and other old economy stocks.

The Sensex has moved up 66 points to 6,391. The Nifty has advanced 18 points to 2,025.

Infosys, on strong buying support, has jumped nearly 3% (Rs 60) to Rs 2,111. While Satyam has gained 1.85% (Rs 8) to Rs 419, Wipro is up 1.50% (Rs 11) at Rs 765.

HLL has inched up by 2.11% (Rs 3) to Rs 148, and ITC is up a per cent (Rs 13) at Rs 1,293.

Reliance, however, is down a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 501. Over 11.71 lakh have been traded on the BSE so far.

Bharti, continuing with its steep upsurge, has soared 3.68% (Rs 7) to Rs 207. The counter has logged a volume of over 11.41 lakh on the BSE so far.

Maruti has moved up 2.55% (Rs 11) to Rs 453. While Bajaj has added 1.17% (Rs 12) to Rs 1,034, Hero Honda is steady at Rs 516 - up Rs 9 or 1.74%. Tata Motors is up 1.12% at Rs 492.

Ranbaxy has spurted 3.43% (Rs 42) to Rs 1,262. While Dr. Reddy's has clocked a per cent gain (Rs 9) to Rs 827, Cipla has added 2.17% (Rs 6) to Rs 292.

BHEL has gained 1.64% (Rs 11) to Rs 715. Select tech stocks have firmed up in early noon trades. Hexaware has shot up 7.29% (Rs 38) to Rs 555. While Geometric has surged 7.29% to Rs 390, i-flex has gained 4.36% to Rs 626. Visualsoft and Polaris are up nearly 4% each at Rs 133 and Rs 159, respectively. TCS has logged 1.49% gains (Rs 18) to Rs 1,250.

NTPC has clocked a volume of over 36.95 lakh on the BSE, followed by Vijaya Bank (32.59 lakh), SAIL (29 lakh) and Ispat (18.11 lakh), respectively.

Sensex @ 1115 hrs

The market, which opened higher and subsequently added gains in early trades, has barely changed as most of the counters are at their earlier levels. The Sensex, as a result, is up 40 points at 6,365. The Nifty also is steady at 2,021 - up 14 points.

The breadth of the market is firm with gainers outpacing losers in the ratio of 2:1. While 1,338 stocks advanced, 635 declined and 49 are unchanged so far on the BSE.

ITC (up Rs 7 to Rs 1,287) has slighlty come off from its early highs. HLL has inched up by 1.42% (Rs 2) to Rs 147. Reliance, however, has lost a per cent (Rs 4) to Rs 502.

Hero Honda has advanced 2.54% (Rs 13) to Rs 520. While Maruti has moved up 2.39% (Rs 11) to Rs 452, Bajaj has clocked a per cent gain (Rs 9) to Rs 1,032. Tata Motors also is trading with gains at Rs 493 - up Rs 6 or 1.17%.

Infosys, Wipro and Satyam are up a per cent each at Rs 2,070 (up Rs 19), Rs 761 (up Rs 7) and Rs 416 (up Rs 4), respectively.

Bharti has moved up 2.23% (Rs 4) to Rs 204, and Hindalco is up a per cent (Rs 13) at Rs 1,285.

Ranbaxy has shot up 2.70% (Rs 33) to Rs 1,253. Other pharma majors are trading with modest gains.

BHEL has added 1.70% (Rs 12) to Rs 715.

Geometric has added 4.84% (Rs 18) to Rs 381. While ICI India has gained 4.66% to Rs 228, TVS Motor is up 3.75% at Rs 83. Orchid Chemicals and Punjab Tractors are up nearly 4% each at Rs 258 and Rs 198, respectively. While Kotak Bank has logged 3.63% gains (Rs 9) to Rs 261, Polaris is up 3% (Rs 5) at Rs 157.

Tata Tele (68.70 lakh) is leading the volume chart, followed by Vijaya Bank (31.88 lakh), SAIL (21.64 lakh) and Essar Steel (19.85 lakh), respectively.

Sensex @1010 hrs:

The Sensex added nine points to open at 6,334, and immediately clocked a high of 6,367 on buying in tech, select heavyweight and other old economy stocks. It is now up 39 points at 6,364. The Nifty has moved up 13 points to 2,020.

Infosys has clocked a per cent gain (Rs 17) to Rs 2,068. While Wipro has gained 1.23% (Rs 9) to Rs 763, Satyam at Rs 414 (up Rs 3) has commenced with steady gains.

ITC has added Rs 11 to Rs 1,291, and HLL is up a rupee at Rs 146. Reliance, however, is marginally down at Rs 504.

ONGC is up Rs 4 at Rs 850. Zee has logged 1.84% gains (Rs 3) to Rs 163.

While Bharti is up a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 202, HDFC has added 1.10% (Rs 9) to Rs 788.

Hero Honda, Tata Motors and Maruti are trading with a per cent gain each at Rs 511 (up Rs 4), Rs 491 (up Rs 3) and Rs 446 (up Rs 5), respectively.

Select counters have gained ground in the early trades. Geometric has advanced 4.26% (Rs 15) to Rs 379. While Dredging Corporation has gained 3.62% to Rs 474, RCF is up 3.10% at Rs 38. Sun Pharma, Corporation Bank, Dabur, BEML and National Fertilizers are up 2% each at Rs 500, Rs 340, Rs 86, Rs 337 and Rs 38, respectively.

Crompton Greaves, however, has slumped 7.69% (Rs 20) to Rs 245. While Britania has lost 3% to Rs 825, Tata Infotech is down 2.84% at Rs 365.