New Delhi - India's key Sensex index rose by nearly 3 per cent in early trade Wednesday on a revival of buying by foreign investors and funds tracking cues from firming trends in other Asian bourses.

Snapping a four-session losing streak after the Satyam accounting fraud, the 30-share index was trading at 9,340.16, gaining 268.90 points or 2.96 per cent at 11.30 am (0600 GMT).

Similarly, the broader National Stock Exchange's Nifty index rose 2.63 per cent to 2817.10 at the same time.

Indian equities on Tuesday (Jan 13) ended the day on a negative note.

The BSE barometer opened weak following global cues, but better-than-expected results from technology giant Infosys turned out a good enough trigger for the stock market to make recovery after an early setback.

IT stocks outperformed, while banking, metal and oil & gas stocks went down.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE IT climbed 4.71%, whereas BSE Oil & gas, Bankex and Metal declined more than 1% each.  

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday but gains were limited due to lingering economic concerns.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 68.11 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 8,482.02.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues was also up 11.29 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 825.41.

On the currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 89.35-40 yen, up from Tuesday's 5 pm quote of 89.25-28 yen.

New York  - Major US stock indices turned in mixed results Tuesday.

Rising energy prices pushed oil stocks higher, and banks rose amid signs of easing credit markets.

Concerns about a looming slump in US corporate profits continued, though, weighing on some sectors of the stock market.

A survey of analysts by the Bloomberg financial news agency found an average estimate that profits at S&P 500 companies probably fell by 20 per cent in the October-December quarter.

During late afternoon trade today (03:10 p.m.), the 30-share index Sensex fell deep into the negative terrain in account of heavy selling action witnessed in stocks including RCom (down 6.95%), Tata Motors (down 5.45%), HDFC (down 4.7%), Jaiprakash Associates (down 4.15%), ICICI Bank (down 4.1%), ONGC (down 3.65%), Bharti Airtel (down 3.3%), RIL (down 2.2%) and a few other frontliners,

The Sensex lost 51 points at 9059.05, while Nifty stood at 2742.20, down 30.90 points.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares fell to their lowest level in more than a month Tuesday, shedding more than 2 per cent after overnight losses on Wall Street.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell by 302.95 points, or 2.17 per cent, to end the day at 13,668.05. Turnover was 47.2 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.08 billion US dollars.)

Tuesday's losses continued a losing streak that began with a 3.37 per cent fall last Wednesday and on Monday saw the index fall back through the 14,000 points barrier.