Nifty gain: Oil & Gas up

The benchmark Nifty started the first day of the week on a flat note with a positive bias, after factoring in the news of the earthquake in Japan. The cooling off crude oil prices was another reason that helped the markets - Brent crude slipped to USD 111.9 a barrel, down by USD 1.94/bbl.

Andrew Holland of Ambit Capital said investor sentiment hit due to tragic events in Japan. Oil price is a key issue for India, he said.

Among frontliners, Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Capital, Reliance Industries, ONGC, Suzlon, NTPC, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, ACC and Tata Steel were leading the markets higher.

However, TCS, Infosys, Tata Motors, Maruti, Cipla, Sun Pharma, L&T, Sesa Goa, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were witnessing selling pressure in early trade.

At 9:17 hours IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained 58 points at 18,232 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 22 points to 5,467,

The CNX Midcap gained 19 points at 7,624. About 348 shares advanced as against 344 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

Midcap & Smallcap space:

Celebrity Fashions rallied another 8%.

Tata Coffee was up 4.5%. Kingfisher and Jet Airways went up 3% each.

Petronet LNG was up 1.5% and HOV Services surged 6%.

Hotel Leela Venture jumped 2%

JHS rallied 7% and Assam Company was up 1.5%.

However, Wockhardt tanked 10% as Bombay HC admitted winding up petition against the company. Wockhardt is likely to challenge Bombay HC decision.

Japan quake: Sensex 154 points down

Indian equity benchmarks have seen more than 0.8% drop on Friday after an earthquake in Japan, weakened the sentiment further already affected by tensions of Middle East & North Africa. However, the market shrugged off the better-than-expected industrial output data.

An earthquake measuring 8.9 struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, shaking buildings in the capital Tokyo. The quake triggered a 10-metre tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses, cars and farm buildings on fire.

The Nikkei 225 average closed down 1.7% at 10,254.43 points after the earthquake struck. Among other Asian markets - Hang Seng, Kospi and Straits Times went down 1-1.5%. Shanghai and Taiwan were down over 0.7%.

Tsunami warning has widened to include rest of Pacific coast, including Australia and South America, after massive earthquake in Japan. India Tsunami Centre says there are no local alerts yet in wake of Japanese quake.

Deven Choksey, KR Choksey Securities said that the crisis may not have a direct impact on Indian economy and business. However, the Japanese crisis may have a far reaching effect on Indian auto components company.

"Commodities may get affected as crude prices will come down. Sectors like insurance and auto will face disruptions," Choksey.

The 30-share BSE Sensex settled down 0.84% at 18,174.09 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 0.89% to close at 5,445.45. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices slipped one percent each.

Massive earthquake hit the North East of Japan

Japanese television showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away by a vast wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake.

The quake has sparked fires in several areas including Tokyo, and numerous casualties are feared.

It struck about 250 miles (400km) from the capital at a depth of 20 miles. There have been powerful aftershocks.

The tremor hit at 1446 local time (0546 GMT). Seismologists say it is one of the largest earthquakes to hit Japan for many years.

The tsunami warning was extended to the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Pacific coast of Russia and Hawaii.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the wave could extend as far as Chile.

Tsunami waves hit Japan's Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, officials said, damaging dozens of coastal communities.

Japan's NHK television showed a massive surge of debris-filled water sweeping away buildings, cars and ships and reaching far inland.

Motorists could be seen trying to speed away from the wall of water.

Farmland around the coastal city of Sendai was submerged and the waves pushed cars across the runway of the city's airport.
'Seasick'

The earthquake also triggered a number of fires, including one at an oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, engulfing storage tanks.

There were reports of about 20 people injured in Tokyo after the roof of a hall collapsed on to a graduation ceremony.

Residents and workers in Tokyo rushed out of apartment buildings and office blocks and gathered in parks and open spaces as aftershocks continued to hit.

Many people in Tokyo said they had never felt such a powerful earthquake.
Map of Japan

In central Tokyo, Jeffrey Balanag said he was stuck in his office in the Shiodome Sumitomo building because the elevators had stopped working.

"There's no panic but we're almost seasick from the constant rolling of the building," he told the BBC.

Bullet train services to northern Japan were halted, rapid transit in Tokyo was suspended and some nuclear power plants automatically shut down.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said there had been no radiation leaks.

In a televised address, he extended his sympathy to the victims of the disaster and said an emergency response headquarters had been set up.

He said the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.4 while the US Geological Survey said it measured 8.9.

Chart of Japanese Tsunamis

Date:	Location:	Fatalities:
Aug-10-1901	Japan (Sanriku)	18
Jul-07-1905	Japan (Fukushima)	41
Jan-12-1914	Japan (Seikaido)	35
Sep-01-1923	Japan (Tokaido)	2,144
Mar-07-1927	Japan (South-West Honshu)	325
Mar-02-1933	Japan (Sanriku)	3,000
May-29-1938	Japan (Hokkaido)	1
Aug-02-1940	Japan (Hokkaido)	7
Nov-18-1941	Japan (Seikado)	2
Dec-21-1946	Japan (Nankaido)	1,997
Mar-04-1952	Japan (Southeast Hokkaido)	33
May 16-1968	Japan Trench	52
May-26-1983	Japan (Noshro)	103
Jul-12-1993	Japan	120

US widens tsunami warning to most of Pacific

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WASHINGTON: The US tsunami monitoring center on Friday widened a warning to virtually the entire Pacific coast, including Australia and South America, after a massive earthquake in Japan.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center expanded a previous alert to include the US state of Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and the entire coast of Central and South America. ( Read: Taiwan on tsunami alert after Japan quake )

The center had earlier said the tsunami would hit Hawaii at around 2:45 am (1245 GMT) and the US West Coast at 7:45 am (1545 GMT).