|
After opening firm, the indices slipped into the red after news that
foreign investors have increased their futures positions on the sell side.
The sensex went close to its all time high of 6954 before retracing. Sensex
closed at 6853, down 54 points and the Nifty at 2154, down 13 points. The
Nifty futures discount to the spot index narrowed to 6 points.
US
markets rebounded on easing crude prices. Crude declined close to 3 per cent
on higher output expectations. The Dow gained close to half a percent while
NASDAQ ended flat. Most Indian ADR's ended weak with Satyam, ICICI Bank, Wipro,
HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Dr. Reddy's all losing ground. MTNL continued its
rally gaining more than 3 per cent and Infosys gained a per cent. Index
of Industrial Production (IIP) is up 8.4 per cent for the period April to
January of the current year as compared to a growth of 6.7 per cent in the
previous year. Manufacturing growth for January 2005 at 9.3 per cent over
the corresponding month of last year confirms the up trend in manufacturing.
Considering that this growth is on an already high 7.2 per cent reported for
January 04 makes it more heartening. Inflation
for the week ended February 26 inched up marginally to 4.95 per cent from
4.83 reported for the previous week. However, this was lower than the consensus
market estimate of over 5 per cent. The RBI governor indicated that growth
rate for fiscal 2005 should be higher than the earlier estimate of 6.5 per
cent while cautioning about pressure on price levels going forward. SBI
has reported credit growth of 20 per cent for the current year while indicating
that credit demand is at its highest for the past 50 years. It may be recalled
that ICICI Bank had also come out with similar statements in the recent past.
The rapid growth in credit off take points to capacity creation by industry
after growing on efficiency gains for some time now. ICICI
Securities has recommended to the government that unlisted public sector telecom
giant BSNL should buy out the government's stake in MTNL, which is a listed
company. This much anticipated merger would create a very strong telecom player
with a pan-India footprint and a huge customer base. This may lead to a possible
listing of BSNL on the bourses and it would be one of the most valuable companies
in the Indian market. Investors should note that there will not be any open
offer for MTNL under the takeover code as a government company, BSNL, is buying
the stake from the government. Promoter
Sunil Mittal has sold his entire personal holdings in Bharti TeleVentures.
However, his group continues to hold around 25 per cent in the company through
a holding company. The stock ended marginally higher. After
yesterday's huge block deal in HDFC Bank, today it was the turn of parent
company HDFC to report a block deal of more than 6 lakh shares. Yesterday,
Deutsche Securities, the investment arm of German banking giant Deutsche Bank,
had picked up close to 4 per cent stake in HDFC Bank. This had led to market
talk about Deutsche Bank taking a strategic stake in the Indian private sector
banking major. Deutsche Bank today denied any move to take a strategic stake. The
steel pack made decent gains led by SAIL and Tata Steel with two per cent
each. There are reports of South Korean steel giant Posco increasing steel
prices by 8 per cent which confirms a sustained uptrend in steel prices. Tata
Steel has indicated a price revision in April while SAIL says it is not considering
any increase now. Bank
stocks continued their run up in morning trades with SBI touching yet another
52 week high of Rs750. The PNB public issue closed today. ICICI bank has increased
the stake in its mutual fund joint venture with Prudential to 51 per cent. Front
line stocks ONGC, Reliance and ITC corrected today and pulled the indices
down. The Tech pack also remained weak. Mid-cap
action
Cigarette manufacturers
Godfrey Philips and VST Industries maintained their uptrend. The smaller tobacco
companies have been attracting considerable interest over the last one week.
Godfrey Philips has gained more than 30 per cent in the last 3 trading sessions. Mid-cap
IT company Zensar Technologies announced a major deal with Japanese financial
group Nomura. The deal is expected to add $10 m to Zensar's top line next
year with significant opportunities to scale up over the next 5 years. The
stock gained more than 10 per cent. Aban
Lloyd Chiles Offshore, the south based offshore oil drilling services company,
announced plans to raise additional resources through issue of GDR or FCCB.
The company may also consider a stock split to improve liquidity. The stock
hit its upper circuit of 5 per cent in morning trades. Dolphin Offshore, another
drilling company was also locked in the upper circuit. There
was action in the smaller private sector bank counters like Federal Bank and
Karnataka Bank. Federal Bank gained more than 7 per cent while Karnataka Bank
gained more than 4 per cent. Mid-cap
steel companies Uttam Galva, Mukand, Tata Metaliks and Mahindra Ugine saw
considerable demand. Uttam Galva shot up more than 15 per cent on sustained
buying. US mutual fund Fidelity is understood to be positive on Uttam Galva. Yesterday's
big winners McDowell and Titan Industries continued to buzz, while some like
ITI, Trent and Pantaloon ended in the red. Most
Asian markets recovered from yesterday's fall. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore
closed with marginal losses. US markets may open firm on news of Intel upgrading
its earnings projections. The
market breadth continues to be positive as mid-caps remain  firm.
News that FII's were net buyers to the tune of $300 million yesterday would
prop up the market Monday morning. Intra-day volatility will be the norm.
*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
|
6,849.21
|
-58.44
|
| NIFTY
|
2,152.90
|
-14.50
|
Last
Update : 11 March, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
432.00
|
442.20
|
432.00
|
440.25 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,108.00
|
1,123.95
|
1,101.00
|
1,119.95 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
556.00
|
565.90
|
556.00
|
563.60 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
225.15
|
229.80
|
221.00
|
225.30 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
1,099.00
|
1,100.00
|
1,090.00
|
1,091.25 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
821.10
|
830.00
|
795.00
|
799.50 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,385.00
|
1,399.00
|
1,341.25
|
1,348.95 |
| BHEL
|
842.00
|
843.90
|
813.15
|
815.00 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,398.00
|
1,402.00
|
1,365.10
|
1,368.00 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
925.00
|
934.00
|
907.35
|
913.00 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
762.50 |
765.00
|
740.50
|
744.00 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
288.00
|
288.70
|
279.00
|
280.00 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
469.95
|
472.60
|
459.15
|
461.70 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
585.00
|
589.00
|
529.00
|
573.00 |
| RELIANCE*
|
594.00
|
600.90
|
585.20
|
587.55 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
706.00
|
714.95
|
695.35
|
695.35 |
| Hindalco
Industries Limited |
|
|
|
1,426.00 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
461.00
|
468.00
|
456.00
|
456.00 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
2,245.00
|
2,247.70
|
2,205.05
|
2,206.10 |
| TATA
POWER |
397.10
|
402.40
|
391.25
|
391.60 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
442.10
|
444.70
|
435.15
|
436.00 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
619.75
|
619.75
|
607.00
|
608.90 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
743.00
|
750.70
|
735.00
|
735.40 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
341.00
|
345.00
|
335.50
|
336.55 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
370.00
|
372.30
|
365.60
|
366.05 |
| HLL |
|
|
|
143.30 |
| ICICI
Bank |
|
|
|
390.20 |
| ICICI
Bank |
|
|
|
390.20 |
| Ranbaxy
Labs |
|
|
|
1,069.50 |
| Satyam
Computer Services |
|
|
|
415.75 |
Last
Update : 11 March, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| RELIANCE
|
596.00
|
600.80
|
585.50
|
586.75 |
| SBIN
|
741.15
|
750.95
|
735.55
|
735.90 |
| TISCO
|
433.00
|
443.00
|
433.00
|
440.25 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
417.50
|
420.75
|
414.25
|
414.50 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
2240.00
|
2250.00
|
2210.30
|
2211.20 |
| ONGC
|
925.00
|
934.90
|
908.20
|
909.10 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
470.40
|
472.70
|
459.20
|
461.25 |
| SAIL
|
64.80
|
66.45
|
64.70
|
65.85 |
| PNB
|
485.60
|
500.70
|
484.00
|
488.25 |
| TCS
|
1406.00
|
1433.95
|
1405.00
|
1422.00 |
| GAIL
|
250.25
|
256.00
|
245.50
|
245.70 |
| BHEL
|
839.00
|
844.00
|
813.60
|
815.05 |
| ITC
|
1394.00
|
1394.00
|
1341.45
|
1345.50 |
| HINDPETRO
|
340.10
|
345.00
|
335.50
|
336.50 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
368.00
|
375.35
|
363.90
|
364.00 |
| MARUTI
|
463.15
|
468.90
|
456.50
|
457.00 |
| BHARTI
|
230.00
|
230.00
|
221.00
|
223.00 |
| RANBAXY
|
1083.95
|
1088.90
|
1065.00
|
1070.00 |
| ZEETELE
|
142.00
|
143.10
|
134.50
|
140.60 |
| WIPRO
|
706.00
|
713.00
|
697.05
|
697.50 |
| MTNL
|
142.40
|
143.40
|
139.20
|
139.20 |
| HDFC |
825.00 |
825.00
|
796.15
|
799.00 |
| IPCL
|
183.85
|
184.15
|
178.70
|
180.00 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1110.00
|
1128.00
|
1098.00
|
1117.60 |
| HCLTECH
|
365.00
|
366.90
|
359.10
|
359.55 |
| TATAPOWER
|
400.00
|
402.25
|
392.25
|
392.55 |
| BPCL
|
407.10
|
409.90
|
398.65
|
399.00 |
| ACC
|
369.50
|
372.40
|
366.05
|
366.05 |
| M&M
|
537.00
|
543.95
|
532.00
|
533.30 |
| CIPLA
|
285.70
|
289.00
|
279.10
|
279.15 |
| NATIONALUM
|
185.30
|
187.90
|
183.00
|
184.65 |
| HDFCBANK
|
620.00
|
620.00
|
606.15
|
609.20 |
| LT
|
1099.85
|
1100.00
|
1094.10
|
1096.00 |
| ICICIBANK
|
395.00
|
399.00
|
389.15
|
389.55 |
| DRREDDY
|
758.25
|
767.00
|
742.20
|
744.00 |
| HINDLEVER
|
144.85
|
145.25
|
143.25
|
143.35 |
| HINDALC0
|
1430.00
|
1443.95
|
1422.05
|
1425.00 |
| DABUR
|
120.85
|
123.90
|
118.50
|
119.55 |
| HEROHONDA
|
557.00
|
566.40
|
555.00
|
563.00 |
| GRASIM
|
1390.00
|
1404.00
|
1365.10
|
1366.55 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
442.00
|
444.80
|
435.50
|
435.50 |
| SCI
|
166.20
|
168.90
|
165.00
|
167.50 |
| VSNL
|
222.00
|
224.75
|
219.50
|
220.55 |
| REL
|
586.00
|
595.00
|
572.60
|
574.75 |
| TATATEA
|
544.10
|
557.00
|
537.00
|
538.25 |
| GLAXO
|
769.55
|
771.60
|
758.00
|
759.90 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
483.05
|
492.00
|
483.05
|
485.00 |
| TATACHEM
|
159.15
|
159.50
|
155.25
|
155.90 |
| ABB
|
1253.00
|
1264.70
|
1220.05
|
1220.05 |
| COLGATE
|
184.30
|
189.00
|
182.30
|
183.00 |
Last
Update : 11 March, 2005, 16:00PM
| 
