Lack of positive news keeps HLL range-bound
Mumbai: It was a volatile day for the Sensex heavyweight HLL, with the stock coming under pressure intra-day following reports that the company's sales growth may not be as per expectations. The FMCG giant has been range-bound over the past one month (Rs 180 to Rs 175-177 levels) given the market shift in favour of sectors showing faster growth. "The FMCG sector is yet to see a major revival in demand despite the monsoon effect," says Navin Aggarwal of Motilal Oswal. According to Srikanth Shetty of Karvy Stock Broking, the subdued interest at the counter is on account of the fact that there is no clear visibility of growth. "There has been talk of parent Unilever making HLL its outsourcing hub and there has also been talk of the company entering into new arenas. However, nothing has happened at the expected pace. Besides, the company is facing stiff pressure from regional/smaller players, which is putting pressure on margins," he said. Shetty said that the stock is already quoting at a PE of 20 times when smaller companies growing at a faster pace are quoting at a lower value.

Analysts maintain that apart from Godrej Consumer, which, given its low base, is doing well comparitively; the sector is not performing as per expectations. "Our expectations are that the stock will continue to remain range-bound and hover in the PE band of 20-22. However, if the outsourcing story were to happen, it could provide a trigger at the counter," market sources said. There is also a perception that given that the company is still in the process of divesting itself of its non-core brands and concentrating on power brands, it would be better to take a long term (3-4 year) view on the stock. The stock ended the day at Rs 176.75 up 0.91 per cent with around 26.69 lakh shares traded on the NSE. On the BSE, the stock ended the day at Rs 177, up one per cent with around 10.4 lakh shares traded.
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Doc's popularity rises
Mumbai: The stock of Dr Reddy's Laboratories is an investor favourite. Institutional as well as retail investors were spotted actively shopping at the counter of the Hyderabad-based drug-maker.

The US market accounted for 80 per cent of DRL's revenues in the fiscal year 2003. Good buying interest on Wednesday propped the BSE closing price by 3.24 per cent to Rs 1167.60. Volumes on the BSE stood at a little over 65,000 while it was about 2.72 lakh on the NSE.
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Pru ICICI MF launches plan for NRIs
Kolkata: Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund has mounted a special effort to tap non-resident Indians, courtesy the Pru ICICI Deposit Plus NRI Series. The series is an open-ended fund that offers investors the option to invest in debt instruments for fixed periods of time, ranging from 90 to 380 days. The fixed maturity plan that has been devised by the fund house will comprise a few sub-plans - quarterly, half-yearly, nine-monthly and yearly - each of which will try to invest in securities of corresponding maturities. An NRI investor may go in for any of these sub-plans depending on his or her investment horizon.

Investments are to be made in quality debt papers and in Government securities, Pru ICICI has informed investors. The latter, it is expected, will be able to minimise the impact of adverse interest rate movements as securities held to maturity are insulated from price risk. The scheme can invest up to 100 per cent of its corpus in money market instruments and cash as well in short and medium-term debt securities. The idea is to generate regular income for investors who have an inflexible time horizon. NRI investors, who have been told that they may not redeem on any day except the specified redemption dates, are advised to obtain a currency forward cover through their banks. According to norms set by Reserve Bank of India, investments in units of domestic mutual funds are covered under the definition of `portfolio scheme' for procuring forward cover.
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SEBI revises FII exposure cap in derivatives
Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India today fixed a 20 per cent limit on foreign institutional investment in individual stock derivatives that have a market wide limit of Rs 250 crore or less. Applicable from October 31, the SEBI move is being seen as a way to curb exuberance in the derivatives market. The regulator has put the position limit at Rs 50 crore for individual stock derivatives with a market wide limit of more than Rs 250 crore. Earlier, the FII position limit in derivative contracts on a particular underlying stock was 7.5 per cent of the open interest of all derivative contracts on a particular underlying stock or Rs 50 crore, whichever was higher, at an exchange. According to market analysts, some unwinding is expected in individual stock derivatives with low market capitalisation where FII exposure may be higher. SEBI also specified position limits on non-resident Indians investing in the derivatives market.

The RBI had on September 1 allowed NRIs entry into the exchange-traded derivatives market on a non-repatriable basis. According to the latest circular, the position limit for NRIs shall be the same as the client level position limits specified by SEBI. It said for stock option and single stock futures contracts, the gross open position across all derivative contracts on a particular underlying stock of a NRI shall not exceed the higher of 1 per cent of the free float market capitalisation (in terms of number of shares) or 5 per cent of the open interest in the derivative contracts on a particular underlying stock (in terms of number of contracts). This position limits would be applicable on the combined position in all derivative contracts on an underlying stock at an exchange, the circular added.
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Rupee closes steady; bonds buoyant
Mumbai: The rupee closed steady on Wednesday at the previous day's closing levels of 45.32 against the dollar in a flat forex market.In the forwards market, the six-month premium ended at 0.33 per cent ( 0.37 per cent) while the one-year premia closed at 0.46 per cent (0.49 per cent).

Bond prices rallied by 75 paise to over Rs 2 across maturities in a bullish government securities market. The 6.17 per cent 2023 paper opened at Rs 102.25 and got dealt as high as Rs 104.42, while the 7.46 per cent 2017paper opened at Rs 117.85 and got dealt up to Rs 119.30. The ten-year benchmark opened at Rs 115.75 and got dealt to Rs 116.50.
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