|
The keenly anticipated relief rally saw the Sensex rallying more than
100 points in morning trades. The indices were partly supported by operators
covering their short positions ahead of the futures and options settlement
due on Thursday. However, the indices gave up part of their gains in the last
half an hour as selling emerged at higher levels. Sensex closed at 6511, up
68 points and the Nifty at 2029, up 14 points. Nifty futures are quoting at
a 6 point premium to the spot index.
In
a very innovative move, Dr Reddy's has roped in the venture capital arm of
ICICI Bank to finance its plans to market generic drugs in the US. Indian
companies have been filing many new applications for generic drugs and patent
challenges in the US recently. Commercialisation of these applications involves
considerable financial outlays and associated risks. Under the deal, ICICI
Ventures would finance the commercialisation up to $56 million in return for
royalty payments as and when the drugs are marketed. The
profitability of major Indian drug companies have been under pressure because
of higher spending on research and costs involved in entering developed markets.
This deal may help Dr Reddy's to part manage the pressure on profits and take
a longer term view. The stock closed more than 2 per cent higher. Foreign
brokerages have been circulating reports among their clients indicating a
fresh round of consolidation moves in the Indian pharma industry. These reports
suggest that many of the frontline companies including Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's
and Cipla could be take over targets for global pharma majors. Global companies
are expanding their research facilities in India in a major way and many of
these companies have very strong research capabilities. All frontline pharma
stocks closed higher for the day. ITC
has announced plans to invest up to Rs14,000 crore in various businesses in
the next few years. The company is positive in its outlook for all its divisions.
The investments will go to upgrading and expanding capacities for cigarettes,
garments and paper. The company is also looking at a major expansion drive
for its hotel division and is repositioning itself as a diversified rather
than just a tobacco company. The stock closed marginally lower after trading
firm in the morning. There
are reports that Tata Motors is looking to sell its passenger vehicles in
the Malaysian market. It already sells commercial vehicles in that country.
The stock closed marginally higher while competitor Maruti gained close to
2 per cent. Tata
Steel is planning to invest up to Rs21,500 crore over the next 5 years to
increase capacity to 15-million tones per year. Bulk of this investment would
go into the new steel plant being planned in the state of Orissa. The company
is also looking at overseas acquisitions though it says it is not looking
at taking over sick steel companies. The stock gained more than a per cent. Private
sector banking stocks saw strong gains. HDFC and HDFC Bank which were beaten
down considerably over the last week led the bounce back with gains of close
to 3 per cent each. ICICI Bank chipped in with gains of over a per cent. Capital
equipment majors L&T and ABB were the other 2 major gainers among Nifty
stocks with gains of more than 3 per cent each. Tata Power also gained over
3 per cent. Tech
stocks Satyam, TCS and Infosys posted gains while Wipro closed with marginal
losses. Telecom
stocks declined even in the general optimism that prevailed during the day.
Frontline telecom stocks VSNL, MTNL and Bharti Tele all ended with losses.
There are reports that BSNL has demanded over Rs1,800 crore from MTNL towards
access deficit and inter-connect charges. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has
stayed the Delhi High Court order directing Reliance Infocomm to compensate
BSNL and MTNL in the international call re-routing case. Mid-cap
action
Mid-cap index
gained almost one and a half per cent as most of the stocks recovered from
the losses incurred last week. Smaller
pharma companies Glenmark and Shasun announced a tie-up to develop and market
generic drugs in the US market. Under the deal Shasun will develop and manufacture
the drugs while Glenmark would do all the filing and commercialisation. Both
stocks gained good ground with Shasun moving up close to 5 per cent. Jindal
Vijayanagar Steel saw some huge block deals in which more than five million
shares changed hands. The stock gained 3 per cent. Other mid-cap steel stocks
also regained some ground. Mid-cap
bank stocks, both private and public sector, had a good day. Federal Bank,
J&K Bank and Bank of Punjab were the gainers among private sector stocks
while Canara Bank, Allahabad Bank and Syndicate Bank stood out among public
sector banks. Industrial
equipment manufacturer Texmaco Ltd gained on news of some order wins by the
company. A major manufacturer of industrial boilers and railway wagons, the
company had posted excellent sales growth in the quarter ending December.
The stock gained more than 3 per cent on the news. Construction
stocks continue to buzz around with strong gains posted by almost all stocks
in the sector like IVRCL, Nagarjuna, Hindustan, Madhucon ,etc. IVRCL whose
public issue received a good response priced the shares at Rs395 as against
a current market price of around Rs470. Gammon India was the sole loser in
this pack with losses of 5 per cent. Telecom
equipment companies Avaya Global (formerly Tata Telecom) and ITI made smart
gains. ITI has recently signed an agreement with Alcatel of France for manufacturing
telecom equipment. Though
the recovery was strong till afternoon, the last hour sell off which saw the
indices giving up most of their gains indicates that the correction may not
be fully over. The sell off was a clear indication of operators utilising
the rally to sell off the position and move to  cash.
The futures settlement due this week is reportedly progressing well, though
some more volatility can be expected in the next three days.
*Disclaimer:
The author doesn't have any position in the stocks specifically mentioned
above at the time of writing this article. This analysis/report is only
for the purpose of information and is not an investment advice. Readers
are advised to consult a certified financial advisor before taking any investment
decisions. While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information
provided in the content the author or publisher shall not be held responsible
for any loss caused to any person whatsoever.
Other
articles by Rex Mathew
List
of general reports on markets List
of general reports on finance Market:
Indices
National
Markets
Gain (+) / Loss (-)
|
SENSEX
|
6,515.85
|
+72.98
|
| NIFTY
|
2,035.90
|
+20.50
|
Last
Update : 28 March, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
982.00
|
1,018.50
|
980.50
|
1,009.60 |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
130.50
|
135.00
|
130.50
|
134.15 |
| TATA
POWER |
343.80
|
355.85
|
342.50
|
351.20 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
535.00
|
538.00
|
530.55
|
534.70 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
755.25
|
779.90
|
755.25
|
772.30 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
388.00
|
405.90
|
388.00
|
398.60 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
695.00
|
713.70
|
694.90
|
709.45 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
416.80
|
430.70
|
414.15
|
421.20 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
390.00
|
400.95
|
390.00
|
398.10 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
1,054.00
|
1,085.90
|
1,054.00
|
1,071.65 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
256.00
|
259.80
|
255.00
|
257.75 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
2,160.35
|
2,215.00
|
2,160.35
|
2,190.70 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
409.70
|
412.25
|
405.45
|
410.45 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
416.00
|
422.80
|
415.75
|
418.35 |
| RELIANCE*
|
563.00
|
573.80
|
561.10
|
567.05 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
851.00
|
868.40
|
851.00
|
860.95 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
558.00
|
558.00
|
530.00
|
535.95 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
135.00
|
136.00
|
133.65
|
135.00 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
419.45
|
422.60
|
413.25
|
417.40 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
672.00 |
677.90
|
659.25
|
666.00 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
212.00
|
215.00
|
209.00
|
210.55 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,254.00
|
1,254.00
|
1,190.50
|
1,212.85 |
| BHEL
|
790.00
|
790.00
|
767.00
|
773.35 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,021.00
|
1,042.00
|
1,010.00
|
1,018.20 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
655.00
|
662.00
|
636.15
|
644.45 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,319.00
|
1,330.00
|
1,295.00
|
1,309.80 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
545.00
|
546.00
|
538.50
|
541.45 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
314.25
|
317.00
|
308.60
|
310.75 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,334.90
|
1,335.00
|
1,307.20
|
1,319.50 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
362.80
|
362.80
|
358.10
|
358.75 |
Last
Update : 28 March, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol | Open | High | Low | Last
Price | | RELIANCE
| 562.00
| 573.30
| 561.50
| 566.10 |
| TISCO
| 415.25
| 422.90
| 415.00
| 418.30 |
| SBIN |
679.00 | 679.00
| 659.10
| 665.60 |
| SATYAMCOMP
| 390.00
| 406.70
| 389.05
| 399.35 |
| INFOSYSTCH
| 2175.00
| 2216.95
| 2167.00
| 2186.00 |
| ONGC
| 851.05
| 869.85
| 851.05
| 861.90 |
| MARUTI |
412.00 | 430.85
| 412.00
| 421.20 |
| PNB |
400.10 | 416.50
| 400.00
| 405.25 |
| TATAMOTORS
| 419.80
| 423.00
| 413.15
| 417.95 |
| SAIL
| 64.40
| 65.60
| 64.25
| 64.75 |
| TCS
| 1391.00
| 1408.85
| 1384.00
| 1392.40 |
| WIPRO
| 650.00
| 662.65
| 635.00
| 643.20 |
| M&M
| 487.90
| 490.90
| 474.10
| 479.50 |
| BHEL |
799.00 | 799.00
| 765.10
| 772.70 |
| RANBAXY
| 1057.00
| 1085.40
| 1055.00
| 1072.90 |
| ITC
| 1330.00
| 1345.80
| 1306.60
| 1313.65 |
| ACC
| 369.80
| 369.80
| 357.80
| 358.45 |
| HDFC |
697.00 | 713.00
| 692.10
| 708.85 |
| DRREDDY
| 770.10
| 778.00
| 757.10
| 772.55 |
| ICICIBANK
| 393.80
| 400.00
| 393.80
| 397.85 |
| HINDPETRO
| 313.70
| 316.90
| 307.10
| 310.70 |
| GAIL
| 219.15
| 222.40
| 218.00
| 219.70 |
| TATAPOWER
| 345.00
| 356.90
| 342.05
| 352.30 |
| IPCL
| 169.50
| 170.70
| 168.75
| 170.05 |
| BHARTI
| 212.50
| 214.55
| 208.75
| 210.00 |
| HINDLEVER
| 134.00
| 136.35
| 133.50
| 134.85 |
| MTNL
| 121.75
| 123.00
| 116.80
| 117.20 |
| HINDALC0
| 1313.50
| 1339.95
| 1295.00
| 1304.90 |
| GRASIM
| 1249.45
| 1249.45
| 1184.35
| 1206.20 |
| LT
| 1027.00
| 1027.00
| 980.00
| 1006.05 |
| BPCL
| 377.00
| 378.00
| 359.10
| 365.30 |
| CIPLA
| 258.40
| 259.70
| 255.00
| 257.15 |
| BAJAJAUTO
| 1010.00
| 1042.00
| 1010.00
| 1021.50 |
| GUJAMBCEM
| 405.00
| 412.80
| 405.00
| 410.20 |
| HCLTECH
| 349.00
| 356.95
| 346.15
| 351.90 |
| ORIENTBANK
| 317.00
| 318.40
| 313.00
| 315.00 |
| REL
| 540.00
| 542.90
| 534.00
| 536.15 |
| ZEETELE
| 131.50
| 135.00
| 131.00
| 134.15 |
| TATACHEM
| 147.25
| 149.70
| 142.00
| 142.90 |
| HDFCBANK
| 529.00
| 539.80
| 526.45
| 532.95 |
| SCI
| 153.00
| 157.00
| 151.85
| 156.35 |
| HEROHONDA
| 540.95
| 548.00
| 538.05
| 540.70 |
| NATIONALUM
| 175.90
| 175.90
| 171.00
| 172.25 |
| TATATEA
| 510.10
| 522.00
| 505.00
| 519.10 |
| VSNL
| 189.90
| 189.90
| 178.45
| 180.65 |
| DABUR
| 110.00
| 113.50
| 109.00
| 109.85 |
| GLAXO
| 701.50
| 703.50
| 689.00
| 695.30 |
| SUNPHARMA
| 473.55
| 474.00
| 467.20
| 470.25 |
| ABB
| 1130.00
| 1174.00
| 1121.00
| 1144.25 |
| COLGATE
| 178.00
| 179.50
| 169.05
| 169.80 |
Last Update
: 28 March, 2005, 16:04PM
| 
