Market Taking Place Proceeds Booking Mode - June 01, 2009

After a positive gap opening, the major Indian indices pared off its early gains and slipped from their day’s high. After an early rally the profit booking pressures have creep in across the broader level. On a positive note, Chinese manufacturing data boosted hopes of recovery of world economy.

On a domestic front, according to a survey manufacturing activity in India has expanded for a second straight month in May to its highest in eight months, which is also reflecting growth in domestic demand.

Besides, under a stock specific movement Bharti Shipyard is trading nearly trading nearly 10% up after making an open offer for acquisition of additional shares of Great Offshore of upto 20% of its total paid up share capital.

During the last trading hours, among the BSE sectoral indices, Realty, Metal and Power stocks registered a smart gain of 4.64%, 3.71% and 2.60% respectively, while the Bankex declined by 0.11%.

Overall the market breadth is positive as 2036 stocks are trading in green while 389 stocks are in red

The BSE Sensex is up by 100.65 points at 14,725.91 while NSE Nifty up by 46.94 points at 4,495.9. Besides, the BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap are trading higher by 93.46 points and 112.21 points at 5,150.2 and 6,099.04 respectively.

Gainers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Jaiprakash Associates surged by (7.59%) to Rs. 223.25, along with NTPC Limited by (5.73%) to Rs. 227.8, Tata Steel by (4.80%) at Rs. 425.8, Reliance Communication by (4.07%) at Rs. 318.25, Hindalco Industries by (3.90%) at Rs. 88 and Sterlite Industries by (3.53%) at Rs. 644.7.

Gainers from the NSE Nifty Pack are Suzlon Energy up by (7.35%) at Rs. 105.1 along with Unitech Limited by (6.41%) at Rs.84.7, Cairn India by (6.08%) at Rs. 245.95, NTPC Limited by (5.83%) at Rs. 227.95, Ambuja Cements by (5.35%) at Rs. 96.5 and Tata Steel by (4.87%) at Rs. 425.1.

BSE Realty is trading higher by (4.64%) or 177.12 points at 3,997.01. The top gainers in the index are Unitech Limited surged by (7.27%) to Rs. 85.55 along with Penland Limited by (6.07%) to Rs. 70.80, Orbit Co by (5.34%) to Rs. 177.50, Akruti City by (4.99%) to Rs. 518.40, followed by Anant Raj by (4.98%) at Rs. 133.80.

BSE Metal is trading higher by (3.71%) or 403.58 points at 11,282. The major gainers are Gujarat NRE up by (6.67%) at Rs. 45.60 along with Welsp Guj SR by (6.01%) at Rs. 179, Jai Corp by (5%) at Rs. 287.85 followed by Tata Steel by (4.8%) at Rs. 425.8.

Markets Today Open With A Huge Gap Up - Aug 06 , 2008

The markets today open with a huge gap up on the back of positive cues from the global markets. The BSE Sensex open with a gap up of more than 300 points and above the 15000 level. All the BSE indices are trading in green in the opening trade mainly led by the Banking, Realty, Auto and Capital Goods stocks. The BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap are also trading higher in the opening bell.

The overall market breadth is positive as 1499 stocks are advancing whereas 327 stocks are declining on BSE.

HDFC Bank reported the top gainer from the BSE Sensex pack, as it is trading with a gain of (9.09%) at Rs.1,292 followed by Maruti Suzuki up by (5.96%) at Rs.651.

At 10.30AM, the BSE Sensex was up by 405.04 points at 15,366.11 and the Nifty was up by 96.05 points to 4,598.90.

The BSE Mid Cap increased by 101.25 points to 5,945.13 and the BSE Small Cap advanced by 85.39 points to 7,278.18.

BSE Bank index surged by 383.75 points to trade at 7,601.73. The major gainers are HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, PNB and Kotak Bank grew by (9.09%), (7.52%), (5.29%) and (4.50%) to Rs.1,292, Rs.745.45, Rs.537.15 and Rs.613 respectively.

BSE Auto index advanced by 110.97 points to trade at 3,930.14. The top gainers are Maruti Suzuki increased by (5.96%) to Rs.651, Tata Motors up by (4.88%) to Rs.429, Mahindra & Mahindra inclined by (4.29%) to Rs.571.50 followed by Ashok Leyland grew by (2.35%) to Rs.32.60.

Tata Power is trading higher by (1.46%) at Rs.1,118. The company was shortlisted Tata Power (TPC) to bid for the city state’s power generating company, Senoko Power.

Market Opens In Positive. - June 26, 2008

The market today opens in green on the positive cues from the global markets. The buying support is seen in the IT, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods and Banking stocks. The BSE Sensex open above the14300 level. The BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap are also trading higher with a gain of more than 1.5% in the opening trade.

The overall market breadth is positive as 1394 stocks are advancing whereas 405 stocks are declining on BSE.

Satyam Computer reported the top gainer from the BSE Sensex pack, as it is trading with a gain of (2.99%) at Rs.458.50 while Mahindra & Mahindra the top loser down by (2.59%) at Rs.526.

At 10.30AM, the BSE Sensex was up by 173.08 points at 14,393.15 and the Nifty was up by 32.25 points to 4,284.90.

The BSE Mid Cap increased by 102.62 points to 5,849.28 and the BSE Small Cap improved by 132.38 points to 7,190.40.

BSE IT index advanced by 56.77 points to trade at 4,151.72. The major gainers are Satyam Computer, HCL Technologies, Financial Technologies and Infosys Technologies grew by (2.65%), (2.16%), (2.14%) and (1.91%) to Rs.457, Rs.267.35, Rs.1,685 and Rs.1,782 respectively.

BSE Capital Goods index improved by 135.99 points to trade at 10,938.17. The top gainers are Bharat Electrical increased by (1.99%) to Rs.1,094.70, BHEL inclined by (1.87%) to Rs1,469, L&T increased by (1.42%) at Rs.2,345.95 followed by Punj Lloyd up by (1.51%) to Rs.242.

Idea Cellular is trading higher by (1.28%) at Rs.103.20, The company is going to acquire Spice Communications to strengthen its position in the growing telecom market. Idea will acquire the Modis’ 40.8% stake in Spice.

Sensex Slips After A Positive Start - June 20, 2008

Except index heavyweight Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and ITC, all other Sensex components surged higher amid cautious early trade on the major Indian bourses this morning. However, with a good number of its components turning easy after a positive start, the Sensex has shed almost its entire gains at present.

The Sensex, which rose to a high of 15,202.01 after opening at 15,168.05, has now drifted down to 15,097.50, up by just 9.51 points over its previous closing mark. The Nifty, which shot up to 4532 in opening trade, has dropped down to 4493.75, netting a loss of 10.50 points.

Ambuja Cements, HDFC, Infosys Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, ONGC, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Satyam Computer Services have gained 1% - 2%.

BHEL, DLF, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Tata Motors are up by nearly a per cent now. NTPC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and ACC have also posted notable gains.

Cairn India, the biggest loser among Nifty stocks, is down by a little over 3% at Rs 275.50. Hero Honda and Zee Entertainment have lost 1.5% and 1.05% respectively. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Sterlite Industries, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Idea Cellular and GAIL India have also declined sharply.

BPCL, HCL Technologies, Tata Power, Tata Communications, Nalco, Unitech and Siemens have recorded impressive gains.

Sensex plunges 230 pts in early trade - June 19, 2008

Stock prices have plunged sharply in early trade and sent the benchmark BSE index Sensex crashing down by 230.95 points or nearly 1.5% to 15,193.83 now. The Nifty has tumbled 1.27% or 58 points to 4524.40.

Stocks across the board have taken a beating in a massive sell-off that has erupted due to weak global sentiment. The mood is so bearish that only Hindalco (up nearly a per cent) among the Sensex components has made it to the positive territory at present.

Maruti Suzuki, down 3.2% at Rs 740.50, is among the most prominent losers in the Sensex. BHEL, DLF, Grasim Industries, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys Technologies, Jaiprakash Associates, NTPC, ONGC, Reliance Industries, Satyam Computer Services, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro have declined sharply.

Ranbaxy Laboratories has settled all pending patent disputes it has world over with Pfizer Inc. This include the high profile patent litigations involving Atorvastatin (Lipitor), the world's most-prescribed cholesterol-lowering medicine with worldwide sales of $12.7 billion world wide. The Ranbaxy stock is down in the red with a sharp loss of 3.65.

Unitech, Power Grid, Siemens, PNB, BPCL, Tata Power, ABB, Hero Honda, Reliance Petroleum, Tata Communications, HCL Technologies and Idea Cellular are among the major losers in the Nifty index.

Market Collapsed In The Opening Trade. - June 12, 2008

The market today collapsed in the opening trade as it opened in deep red following the news that RBI has hiked repo rate by 25 bps to 8% yesterday in order squeeze excess liquidity. All the BSE indices are trading in red in the opening bell. The most selling pressure is seen in the Realty, Bank, Power and Metal stocks. The BSE Sensex has gone below the 15000 level and is hovering around the 14800 mark and the Nse Nifty is trading around the 4400 mark. The BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap both are trading with a cut of more than 1% each.

The overall market breadth is negative as 344 stocks are advancing whereas 1212 stocks are declining on BSE.

HDFC reported the top loser from the BSE Sensex pack, as it is trading with a loss of (7%) at Rs.2001 followed DLF the top loser down by (6.32%) at Rs.477.

At 10.30AM, the BSE Sensex was down by 357.71 points at 14,827.61 and the Nifty was down by 97.25 points to 4,426.35.

The BSE Mid Cap decreased by 104.92 points to 6,085.80 and the BSE Small Cap slipped by 93.29 points to 7,374.01.

BSE Realty index dropped by 266.60 points to trade at 5,537.06. The major losers are HDIL, DLF, Unitech and India Bull Real grew by (6.55%), (5.99%), (4.91%) and (4.04%) to Rs.539.05, Rs.480.60, Rs.175.30 and Rs.365.50 respectively.

BSE Bank index slipped by 259.21 points to trade at 6,759.21. The top losers are HDFC Bank declined by (5.35%) to Rs.1132.30, ICICI Bank decreased by (3.66%) at Rs.714.10 followed by SBI and PNB down by (2.97%) and (2.50%) to Rs.1271.05 and Rs.436.65.

Market Has Nearly Bottomed Out, At Least For Now - June 9, 2008

The Nifty opened on a positive note on Monday and almost touched the 4900 mark before a fresh build-up of shorts pulled it down to close 2.6% lower at 4722. The Nifty June futures added almost 19 lakh shares in open interest (OI) with the cost of carry (CoC) also slipping into the discount (the futures closed almost 25 points in the discount).

Further shorts build-up was seen on Tuesday and the Nifty touched a low of 4626 before bouncing back and closing almost flat for the day at 4707. The trend for the week continued to be weaker as more and more shorts got added, thereby resulting in the Nifty making fresh lows for the month.

Sell-off was seen across the board. The sectors most hit were power, banking and real estate. The Oil ministry announced a hike in the petro products which resulted in initial upmove but the OMCs were victims of fresh shorts. ONGC was the stock of the week as the stock witnessed short covering and gave a movement of over 15% for the week.

The fall finally got arrested on Thursday when Nifty touched a low of 4525 where for the first time during the week, the Nifty futures started trading into premium. This was a classic situation of short covering, resulting in the Nifty closing with a 2.4% gain for the day at 4679. The Nifty futures shed almost 15 lakh shares on that day.

Globally, too, the scenario was stable as crude prices had fallen over $6 the previous day. Short covering was seen in frontline banking, real estate and power stocks. Some metal stocks like Tata Steel and Sterlite also witnessed short covering.

Friday saw the Nifty opening on a positive note after a strong closing the previous day and stable global markets. However fresh shorts kept building at every level on the day and the Nifty finally closed at 4608 with over 1.5% fall.

Nifty futures added 10 lakh shares in OI in the form of short positions. Shorts build-ups were also further seen in

Reliance, besides banking and real estate stocks. Even a defensive sector like pharma witnessed selling pressure.

The closing for the US markets on Friday was very weak with over 3% fall. Nynex crude, on the other hand, has risen by $15 to $138. This is likely to add pressure in the current week on the Indian markets. Also, higher inflationary concerns on account of rising crude prices will add pressure on the banking and interest rate related sectors like real estate and auto.

However, we believe that most of the negativities should be factored in the market prices. On the Nifty, 4500 levels might be retested but that’s where one should see a market bounce-back. Indeed, the market can be expected to rebound when all the factors point towards a fall.

The market-wide OI stands around Rs 72,000 crore with most on the short side. Even on the options front, the Put implied volatilities (IVs) are more than the Call IVs. On the whole, we believe the markets are near bottoming out at least for the time being. As for levels, the trading range for Nifty would be 4500 to 4750 for the next 10 trading sessions.

Sensex Sheds 198 In Choppy Trade - June 7, 2008

It’s pouring bad news on Dalal Street. Inflation shows no sign of yielding, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor YV Reddy has hinted at further hike in interest rates. And on Friday, DLF shares closed below its issue price of Rs 525.

Market participants are near unanimous that things could worsen before they get better. The lack of confidence among investors was evident from the manner in which shares quickly gave up their gains to end over 1% lower, despite the steady trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 15,572.18, down 197.54, or 1.25%, after gaining nearly 200 points at one point during the day. The 50-share Nifty closed at 4627.80, down 49.15 points, or 1%.

Amitabh Chakraborty, president, equities, Religare Securities, says that macro-fundamentals have deteriorated significantly and the market may see a further downside. "I expect the inflation to breach 10% by the end of this month. Foreign money is unlikely to come to India in the present market condition," he says.

Data released by the government on Friday revealed WPI-based index at 8.24% for the week ended May 24 compared with 8.1% in the previous week. With fuel prices having been raised earlier this week, market watchers expect inflation to shoot up further, as higher freight costs are likely to push up prices of essential commodities.

Global equity markets were firm early on, but surrendered a major part of their gains, following a renewed spike in crude oil prices.

Concerns that the US dollar could weaken further, resulted in the crude oil price rising to $127 a barrel. Among key Asian markets, Japanese shares ended around 1% lower, while those in Taiwan, Korea and Singapore ended the day flat.

Mkts Shed Gains After A Rousing Start @ 10:13 Hrs - June 6, 2008

Taking cues from strong global markets, equities opened on a firm note on the major Indian bourses this morning. Telecom, metal, power, realty, capital goods and select IT and oil stocks moved up sharply in early trade. Besides several large cap stocks, a number of stocks from midcap and smallcap segments too surged higher on strong buying enquiries.

However, with quite a few blue chip stocks encountering resistance at higher levels, the Sensex, which had spurted to 15,970.70 in early trade, has now eased to 15,813.16, trimming down its gain to just around 0.28% or 43.44 points. The Nifty has slipped to 4691.70 from a high of 4746.30 and is up with a marginal gain of 14.75 points or 0.32%.

Reliance Infrastructure has moved up by over 2.5% to Rs 1160 thanks to reports that the company has received regulatory approval from Maharastra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to raise power tariff by as much as 10.22%.

Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Jaiprakash Associates, Infosys Technologies, NTPC, Satyam Computer Services, Tata Motors and Tata Steel have gained 1% - 2%. BHEL, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Consultancy Services have also moved up sharply.

Nifty stock Cairn India has jumped by nearly 7% to Rs 282 on strong buying support on the back of reports that the company has secured exploration licence to explore for oil and natural gas in the Mannar basin by the government of Srilanka. According to an announcement from the company, the petroleum resources agreement for the offshore block will be signed in due course.

Sterlite Industries has climbed up 5.2% to Rs 877. Suzlon Energy has gained 2.9%. Tata Communications, Tata Power, BPCL, Siemens, Unitech, GAIL India, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Reliance Petroleum and Dr Reddy's Laboratories are also up in the positive territory with notable gains.

ONGC, a big gainer in the previous two sessions, has slipped by 2.25% on profit taking. Hero Honda, Punjab National Bank, Zee Entertainment, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Idea Cellular have posted sharp losses. ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, ABB, State Bank of India, Grasim Industries and DLF also exhibit weakness.

Mkts Lack Support At Higher Levels @ 10:45 Hrs - June 6, 2008

The Sensex, which drifted lower after a buoyant start, slipped into the red to 15,734.40 in subsequent trade due to heavy selling in a few front line stocks. Though it has edged up into the positive zone to 15,779.78 now, it is up with just a small gain of 10.06 points. The Nifty, which eased to 4663.50, is up by less than a point at 4677.65.

Cipla, DLF, Grasim Industries, ONGC, State Bank of India and Wipro have declined sharply and lost 1% - 2% in the process. Hindalco, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Communications and Reliance Industries have also posted sharp losses. ACC and Ambuja Cements are down with marginal losses.

Bharti Airtel, NTPC, ITC, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Maruti Suzuki trade flat. BHEL, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Infosys Technologies, Jaiprakash Associates, Satyam Computer Services, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services are up with sharp to moderate gains.

Cairn India (up 6.9% at Rs 282.30) rules firm on sustained buying interest. Sterlite Industries is up nearly 5% at Rs 833. Suzlon Energy, HCL Technologies, Tata Power and BPCL also trade firm. Power Grid, Hero Honda, Punjab National Bank and SAIL have declined sharply.

IFCI has gained 1.15% on strong volumes. On the National Stock Exchange, the IFCI counter has clocked a volume of over 12.35 million shares this morning. Reliance Capital has also attracted good volumes, but then, the stock is down in the red with a sharp loss of 0.6%.

Sensex Edges Up After A Cautious Start @ 10:16 Hrs - June 5, 2008

With global markets displaying a mixed trend, trading got off to a cautious start on the major Indian bourses this morning. Select IT, pharma and FMCG stocks have made some progress while realty, auto, power, bank and capital goods stocks trade weak.

The Sensex, which slipped into the red to 15,466.24 after a positive start, rallied to 15,611.88 in subsequent trade before drifting down below the 15,600 mark again. At 15,584.33, the barometer is up with a modest gain of 69.54 points or 0.45% at present. The Nifty is up with a gain of 0.51% or 23.40 points at 4609.
ONGC, which was the lone gainer from the Sensex yesterday, is up with a handsome gain of 4.1% at Rs 923.10. Tata Consultancy Services has gained nearly 3%. Satyam Computer Services and Infosys Technologies are up by 2.55% and 1.9% respectively.

Ranbaxy Laboratories has moved up by over 2%. State Bank of India, NTPC, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever, ACC and Cipla are up by 1% - 2%.

Bharti Airtel, Grasim Industries, HDFC, ITC, Larsen & Toubro and Maruti Suzuki have posted modest gains.

Tata Steel, Wipro, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, Jaiprakash Associates and ICICI Bank trade flat.

BHEL has slipped by 2.2% to Rs 1438.70. DLF, Reliance Communications, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ambuja Cements and Reliance Infrastructure are down with sharp losses.

GAIL India, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Power and Nalco are among the prominent gainers in the Nifty index. Power Grid, Hero Honda and Idea Cellular are down with sharp losses.

Stocks May Chalk Up Modest Gains On Short Covering - June 4, 2008

MUMBAI: Indian stocks may advance Wednesday taking cues from Asian markets and with oil easing below $125 per barrel.

Asian equities rose today led by technology companies and automakers as the dollar rallied amid speculation the US Federal Reserve won't cut interest rates further.

This despite US stocks retreating for the second consecutive day Tuesday on growing speculation that Lehman Brothers will be forced to raise more capital. This led to a slump in financial shares. Similarly, a drop in oil prices pushed down energy companies.

However, the foreign investor data hints at guarded optimism in the near term. The issue over a fuel price hike also hangs fire.

Foreign funds were net sellers of Rs 1491 crore in futures Tuesday but net bought options worth Rs 633 crore.

Tuesday, after being beaten down initially, Indian benchmarks pared losses on buying in frontline oil & gas stocks, and supported by positive opening of European markets. Nifty took support at 4630 levels to bounce back to 4715.90, still down half a per cent.

Nifty June futures settled at a discount of 8 points to the spot, trimming Monday's discount of 20 points. Singapore Nifty futures also ended at discount of 9 points.

Nifty calls of strikes 4700 and 4800 added to the open interest while 4900 shed some positions. A tremendous build up of positions was seen in puts of strikes 4500 and 4400, indicating short term support at these levels.

“Two days of fall have pushed the markets in the lower side of the band. It seems the market is in an oversold zone and that's why we expect some short covering. Global cues are mixed. US markets fell while Asian opened positive. However, we expect a pull back rally from these levels as valuations seem attractive. Nifty will face resistance at 4800. The 4600 level should act as support for the Nifty," said Anand Panikar, a derivatives analyst with large brokerage.

Tuesday, total F&O turnover on NSE was Rs 40,448.71 crore, up 15 per cent from Monday. India VIX was at 28.49, down 3.39 per cent.

Mkts: Power, IT Stocks Decline Sharply @ 11:49 Hrs - June 3, 2008

Power, capital goods, information technology, realty stocks continue to reel under the sustained onslaught of the bears this morning. Stocks from metal, banking and FMCG sectors have not fared any significantly better either. Auto and pharma stocks have found some support. Oil stocks are among the ones to have caught the attention.

At 15,836.60, more than 125 points off a low of 15,709.51 it had touched earlier this morning, the Sensex is 226.58 points or 1.41% behind its previous closing mark. The Nifty is down with a loss of 1.44% or 68.05 points at 4671.55.

Mirroring the heavy sell-off in midcap and smallcap stocks, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have plunged 1.99% and 2.36% respectively.

All the stocks in the Power index are down in the red. Suzlon Energy, the biggest loser of them all, is down by as much as 6.65% at Rs 250.20. Reliance Infrastructure has lost around 5.25% at Rs 1108.55. Tata Power, BHEL and Crompton Greaves have lost 4.2%, 4.6% and 4.9% respectively.

ABB, Areva, CESC, GMR Infrastructure, GVK Power, Power Grid, Reliance Power, Siemens and Torrent Power are down by 1% - 4% from their previous closing levels. NTPC, which has suffered the least damage, is down nearly a per cent at Rs 159.75.

Capital goods heavyweight Larsen & Toubro has slipped 2.95% to Rs 2829. Alstom Projects, Bharat Earth Movers, Bharat Electronics, Elecon Engineering, Jyoti Structures, Kalpataru Power Transmission, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Kirloskar Brothers, Lakshmi Machine Works, Praj Industries, Punjab Lloyd, SKF India and Thermax have also suffered sharp losses.

IT bellwether Infosys Technologies has eased by 2.7% to Rs 1898. Satyam Computer Services has slipped by 4.6% to Rs 494.80. Tata Consultancy Services is down by around 2.2% at Rs 962.80. Wipro has lost 1.85% at Rs 485.95.

Aptech, Financial Technologies, HCL Technologies, i-Flex Solutions, Moser Baer, Mphasis, NIIT, NIIT Technologies, Patni Computer Services, Rolta India, Tech Mahindra, GTL, CMC, Hexaware, Educomp Solutions, Polaris, MindTree Consulting and Subex are also down with sharp losses.

Sensex Recovers After A Mild Setback

Following a moderately severe bout of selling pressure, the market gave up a significant portion of its early gains a few minute back. However, thanks to resumption of buying at select blue chip counters, it has edged up a bit once again.

At 16,526.28, the Sensex is up 110.71 points or 0.67% over its previous closing mark. The Nifty is up 0.4% or 19.55 points at 4889.65. Earlier this morning, the Sensex and Nifty had spurted to 16,632.72 and 4908.80 respectively after a rousing start.

Information technology, consumer durables, pharma and select oil, auto, metal and capital goods stocks have posted strong gains. Realty stocks remain a bit subdued. Bank, PSU, FMCG and power stocks are also seen struggling to make a headway.

Thanks to fairly strong buying in several midcap and smallcap stocks, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have moved up by 0.42% and 0.61% respectively.

Maruti Suzuki, which tops the Sensex gainers list at present, is up nearly 2.5% at Rs 783. Satyam Computer Services has gained 2.15% at Rs 534.80. Jaiprakash Associates, Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro are up by 1.5% - 2%.

Larsen & Toubro has notched up a gain of 1.15%. BHEL is up nearly a per cent at Rs 1678. HDFC, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, ITC, Reliance Infrastructure, DLF, Tata Steel and Tata Motors also trade positive. Cipla, ONGC and Bharti Airtel are up with modest gains.

Essar Oil, the top gainer among BSE 'A' Group stocks, is up 6.7% at Rs 238.60. Dish TV, Godrej Industries and Sun Pharmaceuticals have gained 4.5% - 5%.

Rolta India, Mangalore Refineries & Petrochemicals, SAIL, Bhushan Steel, Chambal Fertilizers, Divi's Laboratories, HMT, Spice Telecom, Videocon Industries, Lanco Infratech, Welspun Gujarat, Hero Honda and Gujarat Minerals have also gained significant ground in the positive territory.

Mkts: IT Stocks Shine In Early Trade

The Sensex opened with a bang at 16,591.46, up by over 175 points on its previous closing mark, and raced on to a high of 16,632.72 as select blue chip stocks recorded strong gains in early trade this morning. A fairly steady trend on the Asian bourses and the marginal fall in crude oil prices appear to have turned on the bulls in opening trade.

At present, the Sensex is up with a sharp gain of 136.23 points or 0.83% at 16,551.80. The Nifty, which shot up to 4908.80 in opening trade, is up by around 0.65% or 31.45 points at 4901.55 now.

IT bellwether Infosys Technologies has gained nearly 2.5% at Rs 2005.15. Other IT stocks in the Sensex, Satyam Computer Services (1.25%), Tata Consultancy Services (1.55%) and Wipro (1%) have also moved up sharply.

Jaiprakash Associates has surged 2.2% to Rs 217.80. BHEL, DLF, HDFC, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Tata Motors and Tata Steel are up by 1% - 2%.

Ambuja Cements, HDFC Bank, Grasim Industries, ICICI Bank, ONGC and Reliance Infrastructure have posted modest gains. Bharti Airtel and Cipla also trade positive.

Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Reliance Communications exhibit weakness.

Sun Pharmaceuticals (up nearly 4.5% at Rs 1465) is the biggest gainer in the Nifty. Hero Honda, Sterlite Industries, SAIL, HCL Technologies and Siemens are the other prominent gainers. Suzlon Energy, BPCL, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, GAIL India and Power Grid have declined sharply.

Manpower hit Nifty cos' profitability

The big boys of corporate India are reeling under the pressure of increasing raw material costs at one end and declining other income at the other. This reflects in the aggregate performance of more than half of the CNX Nifty companies that have reported financial numbers for the March 2008 quarter.

Out of the 50 CNX Nifty companies, 28 have declared results so far. A look at their aggregate performance indicates that the top layer of India Inc is finding it difficult to convert the robust topline growth into equally impressive expansion in the bottom line. While sales grew by 29.3% during the March 2008 quarter as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, net profit (PAT) rose at a slower pace of 21.6%. On sequential basis, the picture was even gloomy. PAT dropped by 14.8% as compared to the previous quarter even as sales jumped up 7.2%.

A double whammy, comprising a fall in other income and a surge in raw material & employee cost, has substantially pushed down the profitability of these companies. Raw material costs, which form half of the total expenses, went up by 13.3% sequentially as against the average rise of less than 5% in the preceding eight quarters. This is largely on account of an unprecedented rally in prices of most commodities.

A sudden plunge in other income worsened the picture. Other income, which basically comprises of non-core activities like treasury operations and sell of assets, is of significant importance as it accounts for a substantial proportion of PAT. For instance, during the March 2007 quarter, the Nifty 50 companies earned close to 36% of their net profits via other income. This means overall profitability took a knock during the March 2008 quarter given the drop of 45.4% in other income.

Although losses pertaining to forex hedging activities are a primary reason for this fall in other income, turmoil in equity and debt markets has also contributed significantly or has rather eaten into other incomes. This is imperative as a significant portion of India Inc.’s free cash flow is invested in mutual funds and gilts. Further, rise in employee costs has also meant that the margins of India Inc. have thinned substantially.

On the positive side, the sample of 28 Nifty companies has still managed to grow topline significantly during the March 2008 quarter. In fact, the QoQ topline growth is marginally higher than the average 7.1% growth over the last eight quarters. Companies including Sterlite and Nalco have witnessed a sharp jump of over 20% in their respective toplines. However, there have been a few laggards. Sales of DLF, Ranbaxy and ABB have declined.

Market Gets A Triple Policy Booster

Mumbai: A bouquet of domestic announcements strew rose petals in the path of the Indian equities market, helping it buck the trend in the bearish global markets on Tuesday.

Industry friendly measures from the RBI and the Finance Minister sent the Sensex and the Nifty rising to their two-month highs to top the list of index gainers globally. This, against a backdrop of the US markets closing flat on Monday after US crude oil futures hit a record high of $119.93 a barrel.

The Indian indices opened in the green on Tuesday, and then moved into the red, then remained in this volatile state till forenoon, when the first booster shot was delivered by the RBI Governor; there was to be no change in the key lending and borrowing rates, but only a hike in CRR.

The reaction was immediate, and sharp! The interest-sensitive bank, realty and auto stocks were the first off the volatile seesaw, moving up decisively at noon.

The RBI’s projection of 8 to 8.5 per cent economic growth in the current financial year was also positive for the markets.

“The commendable part is that even after these measures, the Indian economy is expected to sustain an 8 per cent GDP growth, which still remains attractive, given the slowdown being witnessed in the global economies,” said Hitesh Agrawal, Head of Research, Angel Broking.

“The RBI showed its concern about the slowdown in growth by keeping both the repo and reverse repo rates unchanged in its policy. And the markets have responded favourably, led by real estate, mortgage and software companies,” said S. Ranganathan, head of Research, LKP Securities.

RBI’s measure raising the outward foreign direct investment limit in excess of the current limit of 400 per cent of a company’s net worth for certain sectors, and the extension of the time period for the repatriation of the export proceeds lent more adrenalin to the markets. As this news trickled in, the rupee (which had already opened weak) dropped further, closing around 30 paise lower at Rs 40.46 to the US dollar.

Exemptions Impact

The Finance Minister’s announcement in Parliament an hour later, around 1 pm, extending tax exemptions to software technology parks till March 2010 in reply to a debate on the Finance Bill for FY09 had a further distinct impact on IT stocks, sending the BSE IT index from the bottom to the top among the sectoral indices on the BSE.

On the old economy stocks front, the Minister’s announcement of scrapping import duty on zinc and metallurgical coke lifted metal stocks. The Minister announced an ad valorem duty of 12 per cent on cement priced above Rs 250 a bag replacing last year’s fixed excise duty of Rs 600 a tonne. This, it was felt, would help contain inflation.

The total gains that piled on the Sensex mounted to over 400 points after the RBI and Finance Minster’s measures, though the benchmark index cooled off a bit later, closing with a gain of 362 points at 17,378, up by 2.13 per cent from Monday’s close. The Nifty gained 2.08 per cent to close at 5,195.

The cooling off was in part accounted for by banking stocks, as there was some displeasure on the part of investment banks on the CRR (cash reserve ratio) hike of 25 basis points.

“The current CRR hike and prospects for more will be negative for banks as it would hurt their margins,” said Tushar Poddar, Vice-President, Asia Economic Research Team, Goldman Sachs India.

Liquidity

The CRR rate, which is now 8.25 per cent with Tuesday’s 25 basis point hike, has come after the 50 basis point CRR hike announced earlier this monrth. In all, the 75 basis point CRR hike is estimated to suck out around Rs 28,000 crore from the system.

“On the banking sector per se, the impact of the same would be negative, especially for PSU banks, which have a lower fee component to their overall business pie as compared to the private players in the space,” said Hitesh Agrawal.

“The hike in CRR indicates that RBI’s preferred tool would continue to be liquidity management and they would use CRR and MSS (Market Stabilisation Scheme) to ensure that systemic liquidity remains balanced,” said Navneet Munot, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund.

Bonds

Bond prices surged by over one rupee as the RBI kept key rates unchanged in its monetary policy. Bond dealers said that there was a sense of relief in the market since the widely held view was that the repo rate would be hiked by the RBI.

Mkts Shed Some Gains @ 10:44 Hrs

PSU, realty, auto, capital goods and power stocks have moved up sharply this morning. There are smart gains for select oil, FMCG, metal, pharma and bank stocks as well. Consumer durables and information technology stocks have drifted lower due to lack of support.

The Sensex, which shot up to a high of 17,480.74 earlier in the day, has drifted down to 17,412.21 now, but remains in the positive territory with a marginal gain of 33.75 points or 0.19%. At 5210.60, around 20 points down from a high of 25230.75 it had touched earlier this morning, the Nifty is up 0.29% or 15.10 points over its previous closing mark.

Besides a number of large cap stocks, several midcap and smallcap stocks have also risen sharply on strong buying enquiries this morning. Thanks to widespread buying, the market breadth remains pretty strong at present.

MMTC, the biggest gainer in the PSU index, is up by 5% at Rs 29,845.85. NMDC has notched up a gain of 3.5%. Rural Electrification Corporation, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have gained 2% - 2.5% on sustained buying support. Maruti Suzuki, Unitech, SAIL, Suzlon Energy, NTPC, Tata Power, Reliance Petroleum, GAIL India, DLF and BPCL have also moved up sharply.

Siemens, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Zee Entertainment, ITC, Cipla, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Power Grid, Cairn India, BHEL, State Bank of India and ABB have posted modest gains.

Realty stock Mahindra Lifespace has vaulted more than 10% to Rs 542. Puravankara Projects has gained 6.15% at Rs 286. Ansal Infrastructure has gained 5.4%. Sobha Developers (3.65%), Akruti City (2.7%), HDIL (2.55%), Omaxe (2.4%), Unitech (2.4%), Parsvnath Developers (1.45%) and Penland (01%) have also risen sharply. India Bulls Real Estate is up with a modest gain of 0.65%.

Nifty Likely To Cross 5200-Mark This Week

The last week saw expiry of the April derivatives contracts. The Indian markets came off from a holiday mood (there were two holidays in the earlier week) and started with a gain of over 1.7% on Monday.

The markets witnessed strong rollovers into the May series, which indicates that the momentum, which had set in April, is likely to continue. The Nifty saw almost 70% of its positions getting rolled while the market rollovers were well over 85%. Among stocks, Hindalco witnessed maximum rollovers, at around 92%.

The rollover cost improved significantly across the board as compared to the last expiry. This is primarily because of the optimism that has come back into the market. 4950 was a crucial level (Nifty had fallen thrice from these levels during the last two months) and the Nifty managed to break it. It closed at around 5000 levels for the April expiry.

The best part about last week was that the mid-caps drew significant attention from investors. Strong buildup was seen in that space. This is another factor, which indicates that investor confidence is coming back into the markets.

The Nifty April futures traded at a premium at most times and the calendar spreads turned positive, suggesting that the rollovers were mostly towards the long side.

The last trading session for the week saw the Nifty gaining over 2.5% to close at 5111. The markets witnessed a huge build-up in telecom stocks after the announcement of Bharti's results. Bharti Airtel was up 9% for the day with Reliance Communications also registering a 8% gain. In the banking space, ICICI Bank and HDFC witnessed upmoves after the inflation numbers were announced.

Going forward, we believe that Nifty is all set to cross the 5200-mark this week. Sectors like metals and power are poised to give strong moves. The metal stocks have witnessed significant long rollovers, which is very promising. The power stocks on the other hand had witnessed weaker rollovers. This means shorts have got expired last month and the stocks are likely to bottom out. Other sectors that are likely to witness an upmove are FMCG and construction.

Banking stocks, which have had a good run after the result announcements, are likely to witness some profit-taking before the quarterly monetary policy on April 30.

On the options front, the Nifty 5000 calls added significant long positions as the open interest rose sharply along with rise in implied volatility. However, call writing has been severe in the 5200 and 5300 Nifty strikes. The 5200 level can therefore be a strong resistance for Nifty.

On the puts front, put writing has been witnessed in the Nifty 4800 and 4900 strikes, indicating support at those levels. On the stock options front, strong buildups have been witnessed in the ICICI Bank 900 call and put.

This suggests a straddle positions getting built with expectations of a sharp movement in the stock ahead of the monetary policy.

Sensex Tumbles After An Initial Surge @ 10:11 Hrs

Buoyed up by a sharp jump in the bank's net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, the ICICI Bank stock spurted to Rs 947 in early trade on the BSE today. With a few other frontline stocks posting sharp gains, the Sensex opened with a positive gap of around 125 points at 17,251.56 and edged up by another twenty points in opening trade.

However, due to strong resistance at higher levels, a host of blue chip stocks have drifted lower in subsequent trade and pushed the barometer down to 17,109.94 within the next few minutes. Though it staged a recovery of sorts after that, due to a fresh round of selling in frontline stocks, the Sensex has now eased to 17,056.07, recording a loss of 69.91 points or 0.41%.

The Nifty, which moved on to 5147.47 in early trade, has now eased to 5098.55, netting a loss of 0.26% or 13.15 points.

ICICI Bank has now slipped to Rs 924, up by just around 0.9% over its previous closing price. Telecom stock Bharti Airtel has posted an impressive gain of 2.35%. Reliance Communications, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Ranbaxy Laboratories are up by 0.5% - 1%.

Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Reliance Energy, ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindalco, Grasim Industries, DLF and Cipla are up marginally over their previous closing levels.

BHEL, Infosys Technologies and Wipro have declined sharply. Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Satyam Computer Services, Larsen & Toubro, Jaiprakash Associates, ACC, Ambuja Cements and ITC also exhibit weakness.

Thanks to impressive quarterly results, Sterlite Industries has moved up by 3.7% to Rs 867. Cairn India, SAIL, Hero Honda, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Power Grid and Idea Cellular are the other prominent gainers in the Nifty index.

Siemens is down with a loss of 13.95% at Rs 554. ABB, Punjab National Bank and Nalco are also down in the red with sharp losses. While ABB has lost 3%, Punjab National Bank and Nalco are down by around 1% and 0.75% respectively.