|
The sentiment was positive in the morning after the US markets closed
in the positive yesterday and oil prices declined substantially. The indices
opened almost flat but gained strength soon.
The
uptrend did not attract much support and the markets gave up part of the early
gains by noon. From there on, the indices traded in a narrow band around yesterday's
levels. Volumes were once again very low. Sensex
closed at 6457, up 12 points and the Nifty at 1993, up 7 points. Nifty May
futures discount to the spot index narrowed to 14 points from yesterday's
17 points. Among
Nifty stocks, BPCL, HDFC and HCL Technologies were the major percentage gainers
while Oriental Bank of Commerce, IPCL and MTNL were the major losers. Yesterday,
US markets closed on a positive note after the release of some strong economic
data and declining oil prices. US trade deficit for the month of April narrowed
much more than expected on the back of good export growth and a slow down
in imports. The crash in oil prices towards close of the session led to a
rally and all major indices ended in the positive. NASDAQ gained close to
half a per cent while gains for the Dow were lower. Crude
oil futures on NYMEX crashed over 3 per cent to close at $50.45 to a barrel
yesterday. The latest sell off was triggered by a report from the International
Energy Agency which said global demand during the first quarter ended March
2005 slowed down as compared to last year. The growth in demand in China was
much lower than expected. Crude is trading below $50 in early trades today. Indian
ADR's generally had a bad day as the tech stocks did badly. Infosys was the
largest loser with losses of over 2 per cent. Wipro and Satyam also closed
with losses. Among other stocks MTNL lost close to 3 per cent. Tata Motors,
HDFC Bank and VSNL managed to close in the positive. RBI
came out with guidelines on mergers between private sector banks. As per the
new guidelines, the boards of merging banks should approve a draft scheme
of amalgamation. The banks should obtain the approval of at least two-thirds
of the shareholders for the merger to go through. Further, the post merger
shareholding should be in line with the RBI guidelines on shareholding pattern. Tata
Steel indicated that the price and production cuts by some of the American
and European steel manufacturers may not affect prices in the Indian market.
Analysts believe that the expected revaluation of the Chinese yuan would make
steel exports to that country cheaper and Indian companies stand to gain.
Both Tata Steel and SAIL were trading with gains of over a per cent each in
early trades. ONGC
said all the bids submitted for Canadian oil company Calgary were rejected
including the bid submitted by ONGC. The company says it will submit a fresh
bid if Calgary again invites bids. The stock closed with gains. Reliance
Industries is reported to be among the potential buyers for multinational
ICI's petrochemical business in Pakistan. ICI is reportedly asking for $300
million for selling the business. The stock closed in the red. TCS
and Microsoft are widening their alliance to deliver IT solutions to global
telecom companies. TCS is an approved Microsoft global systems integrator
and is already offering these solutions to British Telecom. The stock closed
marginally down. Indian
Oil and GAIL are setting up a joint venture to supply natural gas in the cities
of Agra and Lucknow. The venture will target both domestic and commercial
users. Mid-cap
action Stocks
of companies owning old mill land in Mumbai gained after the Supreme Court
allowed them to develop the mill land for residential and commercial purposes.
Bombay Dyeing, Shri Dinesh, Ruby Mills and Hindoostan Spinning were some of
the stocks in the limelight. Another
stock to benefit from its real estate holding was Premier Auto on reports
that the company is planning to sell its land in the Kurla area of Mumbai.
The company is launching a passenger vehicle and a light commercial vehicle
in collaboration with a Chinese company. The stock closed over 6 per cent
higher. Stocks
of textile exporting companies saw very good demand after US retail giant
Wal-Mart announced that it will increase its annual purchases from the country
to $1.5 billion a year. A large part of the sourcing by Wal-Mart from India
is home furnishing and footwear. Wal-Mart
gave enough indications that it is planning to open retail stores in the country
eventually. The company cited the example of China where large scale sourcing
of goods was followed by setting up of retail stores. Pantaloon
Retail, India's largest organised retailer who could be affected the most
by the entry of Wal-Mart, said it is not worried about the entry of the US
giant. Pantaloon expects its revenues to touch $1 billion in 2 years time.
The stock gained over 3 per cent. Havells
India, manufacturer of household electrical fixtures, gained over 10 per cent
after the company announced a liberal bonus of one share for every share held. Paper
stocks made all-round gains after reports of a price hike for paper products.
Industry leader Ballarpur Industries gained close to 3 per cent. Pudumjee
Pulp and Rama Newsprint also made good gains. Generic
drugs exporting company Strides Arcolab gained close to 5 per cent in early
trades after the company announced a deal with a US based company to market
generic drugs in the US and Canada. The size of the deal was not disclosed. Tata
Infotech gained close to 10 per cent in early trades after the company reported
excellent results yesterday. For the quarter ended March 2005, profits more
than doubled on a 20 per cent rise in revenues. For the full year the company's
revenues rose close to 30 per cent and profits by over 30 per cent. The stock
closed with gains of 14 per cent. South
Indian Bank lost over 4 per cent in early trades after the company reported
a loss for the quarter ended March 2005. For the full year, profits declined
close to 90 per cent as compared to the previous year. The stock had seen
substantial gains in the mid-cap banking frenzy following the government decision
on voting rights in banks. Saksoft
continued its extreme volatility from yesterday. After losing almost 17 per
cent yesterday, the stock opened weak in the morning. However, renewed buying
frenzy from traders pushed the stock up and was locked in the 20 per cent
upper circuit by close.  Among
mid-cap stocks Igarashi Motors, Infomedia India and Rane Madras were the significant
percentage gainers, all gaining 20 per cent each.
Williamson
Magor, Amara Raja Batteries and Asian Electronics were among the major mid-cap
losers.
*Disclaimer:
The author does not 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
|
6,456.82
|
+11.69
|
| NIFTY
|
1,993.15 |
0.00 |
Last
Update : 12 May, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
152.00
|
156.90
|
151.65
|
155.85 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
740.90
|
755.00
|
740.90
|
750.00 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
385.40
|
393.75
|
384.00
|
391.50 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
1,005.10
|
1,020.00
|
1,004.00
|
1,020.00 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
973.00
|
981.90
|
967.00
|
979.10 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
434.50
|
443.00
|
434.50
|
438.30 |
| TATA
POWER |
366.00
|
369.00
|
364.00
|
367.95 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,130.00
|
1,145.00
|
1,121.00
|
1,137.60 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
876.50
|
889.00
|
872.00
|
884.55 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
431.00
|
435.90
|
430.00
|
433.25 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
445.00
|
446.50
|
442.00
|
445.25 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
328.00
|
332.00
|
327.50
|
330.00 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
638.00
|
644.00
|
637.00
|
642.75 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
616.50 |
622.40
|
615.60
|
619.00 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
275.00
|
279.00
|
275.00
|
277.95 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,153.00
|
1,154.95
|
1,146.10
|
1,148.80 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
650.00
|
664.90
|
650.00
|
657.95 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
426.15
|
431.60
|
425.55
|
430.85 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,219.00
|
1,227.70
|
1,207.90
|
1,212.00 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
358.50
|
362.50
|
357.10
|
358.30 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
132.85
|
132.85
|
130.05
|
130.45 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
538.90
|
540.00
|
527.30
|
530.00 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,479.70
|
1,488.70
|
1,460.00
|
1,466.25 |
| BHEL
|
835.00
|
836.80
|
825.15
|
827.20 |
| RELIANCE*
|
519.00
|
541.45
|
519.00
|
539.00 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
221.90
|
221.90
|
217.50
|
219.25 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
390.75
|
395.00
|
388.25
|
392.15 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
498.00
|
501.00
|
496.00
|
497.90 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
2,009.00
|
2,065.00
|
2,009.00
|
2,060.95 |
Last
Update : 12 May, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| RELIANCE
|
539.90
|
541.40
|
534.65
|
539.05 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
425.55
|
431.50
|
425.55
|
430.75 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
2062.70
|
2066.00
|
2041.00
|
2061.15 |
| TISCO
|
358.00
|
362.45
|
356.15
|
358.00 |
| MARUTI
|
435.00
|
442.80
|
435.00
|
438.20 |
| SBIN
|
612.35
|
622.70
|
612.35
|
618.85 |
| ONGC
|
875.00
|
888.60
|
866.20
|
884.60 |
| TCS
|
1159.00
|
1161.70
|
1143.15
|
1146.75 |
| ITC
|
1485.00
|
1489.00
|
1458.25
|
1467.00 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
430.00
|
435.30
|
429.25
|
433.40 |
| SAIL
|
53.00
|
53.90
|
53.00
|
53.10 |
| ACC
|
386.20
|
394.45
|
382.00
|
391.50 |
| HDFCBANK
|
535.00
|
539.90
|
527.15
|
529.35 |
| HINDLEVER
|
132.50
|
132.90
|
130.10
|
130.55 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
262.50
|
264.50
|
256.10
|
257.50 |
| PNB
|
373.00
|
379.20
|
372.10
|
375.20 |
| HDFC
|
738.90
|
759.70
|
736.20
|
753.30 |
| RANBAXY
|
973.00
|
983.10
|
965.00
|
980.85 |
| BPCL
|
365.10
|
375.80
|
365.10
|
373.55 |
| HINDPETRO
|
328.00
|
332.00
|
327.00
|
329.85 |
| ZEETELE
|
153.00
|
156.80
|
152.00
|
155.95 |
| HEROHONDA
|
553.90
|
558.40
|
549.70
|
552.05 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1142.00
|
1149.00
|
1121.50
|
1140.20 |
| WIPRO
|
637.80
|
644.40
|
637.00
|
643.25 |
| COLGATE
|
213.05
|
220.75
|
211.60
|
212.65 |
| NATIONALUM
|
150.50
|
153.50
|
149.45
|
152.65 |
| MTNL
|
116.00
|
117.50
|
115.20
|
115.65 |
| IPCL
|
166.75
|
166.75
|
164.60
|
166.00 |
| GAIL
|
213.20
|
219.90
|
213.20
|
218.70 |
| ICICIBANK
|
391.40
|
394.80
|
388.15
|
391.70 |
| BHARTI |
220.00 |
221.00
|
217.50
|
219.40 |
| DRREDDY
|
652.00
|
664.80
|
650.00
|
658.10 |
| LT
|
1005.00
|
1020.10
|
1003.00
|
1015.00 |
| HINDALC0
|
1210.00
|
1226.85
|
1205.05
|
1213.75 |
| BHEL
|
836.70
|
836.70
|
826.45
|
833.35 |
| CIPLA
|
278.20
|
279.00
|
276.55
|
277.70 |
| M&M
|
463.00
|
468.95
|
463.00
|
465.40 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
444.90
|
446.50
|
442.00
|
445.80 |
| HCLTECH
|
345.15
|
359.00
|
345.15
|
355.35 |
| GRASIM
|
1148.00
|
1155.00
|
1144.00
|
1150.95 |
| TATATEA
|
546.00
|
549.90
|
544.00
|
546.10 |
| REL
|
497.95
|
501.90
|
497.00
|
497.90 |
| GLAXO
|
744.00
|
752.30
|
743.95
|
750.25 |
| TATACHEM
|
160.00
|
161.00
|
158.55
|
158.95 |
| ABB
|
1246.00
|
1266.50
|
1241.00
|
1247.60 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
501.65
|
507.05
|
493.10
|
504.60 |
| SCI
|
145.20
|
149.25
|
145.20
|
147.90 |
| VSNL
|
207.15
|
209.75
|
205.60
|
206.45 |
| DABUR
|
125.05
|
125.90
|
123.60
|
125.00 |
Last
Update : 12 May, 2005, 16:04PM
| 
