Markets on 22nd Feb 2008

Markets on 22^nd Feb 2008

Markets end in red on the back of weak global cues

The markets opened in the negative on the back of weak global cues and remained in a range for the rest of the session. They finally closed near the lows of the day. While the Sensex was down 385.61 points or 2.17% at 17,349.07, the Nifty lost 81.05 points or 1.56% to close at 5110.75. Broadmarket indices also fell but to a smaller extent as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices lost 0.97% and 1.01% respectively. The market breadth was negative as A/D ratio was 1:2 on the BSE. NSE cash turnover was Rs.10201.49 cr vs. Rs. 12193.69cr yesterday.

Sectorally, barring the BSE Consumer Durables and Healthcare indices that ended flat, all the other BSE Indices ended lower. The biggest losers were the BSE IT and Bankex which lost 3.06% and 3.14% respectively. Gainers from the index pivotals were Cipla, Hindalco and Maruti Suzuki. Major losers were Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, Satyam Comp, ICICI Bank and Infosys.

With the Nifty closing near the 5100 support levels which also correspond to the 200 day EMA, Monday’s trading session would be crucial. A close below these important supports could lead to a sharp fall and a testing of the 5000 and 4800 supports. We continue with our go slow approach on fresh long positions.

Read More

Indian Markets - A Smart recovery

Indian Markets  -  A Smart recovery

The markets opened in the positive on the back of strong global cues and then started to slip into negative territory post lunch. However, they soon staged a smart recovery in the last hour of trade to finally close with healthy gains. While the Sensex was up 117.08 points or 0.66% at 17,734.68, the Nifty gained 37.35 points or 0.72% to close at 5191.80. Broadmarket indices performed in line with the frontline indices as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 1.05% and 0.64% respectively. The market breadth was positive as A/D ratio was 1.2:1 on the BSE. NSE cash turnover was Rs.12193.69cr vs. Rs. 12184.21cr yesterday.

Sectorally, barring the BSE Bankex and Capital Goods, all the BSE Indices ended higher. The BSE IT and Metals surged 4.77% and 3.83% respectively. Top Gainers amongst the index pivotals included Satyam Comp, Hindalco, Wipro, Tata Steel and Infosys. Losers were HDFC, ICICI Bank, BHEL, SBI and Grasim Inds.

While the main indices continue to remain rangebound a lot of stock specific action is being seen. We nevertheless continue with our go slow approach on fresh long positions due to continued global uncertainties and the fact that the main indices in India are yet to enter into a confirmed uptrend.

Source- Capital Markets

Read More

Markets on 19th Feb 2008

Markets on 19^th Feb 2008

Markets end on a flat note for the second consecutive session The markets opened in the positive and traded at higher levels until noon.

Thereafter, they witnessed selling pressure and marginally dipped in the red. They finally closed on a flat note. While the Sensex was up 27 points or 0.15% at 18,075.66, the Nifty gained 3.9 points or 0.07% to close at 5280.80. Broad market indices outperformed the frontline indices as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.57% and 0.41% respectively. Market breadth was positive, as A/D ratio was 1.2:1 on the BSE.

Sectorally, it was a mixed bag. While the top gainers were the BSE Consumer Durables, Auto and Healthcare indices, the top losers were BSE Realty and Power. Gainers from the index pivotals include Bajaj Auto, Ranbaxy Labs, ACC and TCS. Losers were Rel Energy, Hindalco, DLF and ITC.

With the main indices continuing to trade in a narrow range for the second consecutive session, markets seem to lack direction for the moment. We recommend a go slow approach on fresh long positions.

Read More

Markets on 19th Feb 2008

Markets on 19^th Feb 2008

Markets end on a flat note for the second consecutive session The markets opened in the positive and traded at higher levels until noon.

Thereafter, they witnessed selling pressure and marginally dipped in the red. They finally closed on a flat note. While the Sensex was up 27 points or 0.15% at 18,075.66, the Nifty gained 3.9 points or 0.07% to close at 5280.80. Broad market indices outperformed the frontline indices as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.57% and 0.41% respectively. Market breadth was positive, as A/D ratio was 1.2:1 on the BSE.

Sectorally, it was a mixed bag. While the top gainers were the BSE Consumer Durables, Auto and Healthcare indices, the top losers were BSE Realty and Power. Gainers from the index pivotals include Bajaj Auto, Ranbaxy Labs, ACC and TCS. Losers were Rel Energy, Hindalco, DLF and ITC.

With the main indices continuing to trade in a narrow range for the second consecutive session, markets seem to lack direction for the moment. We recommend a go slow approach on fresh long positions.

Read More

Market on 18th Feb 2008

Markets end marginally in red

After opening in the positive, markets witnessed selling pressure and slipped into the red. The markets then traded in red for most part of the day but managed to close off the lows of the day. While the Sensex was down 67.20 points or 0.37% at 18,048.05, the Nifty lost 26.0 points or 0.49% to close at 5276.90. Broadmarket indices outperformed the frontline indices as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.65% and 1.40% respectively. This explains the positive market breadth as A/D ratio was 2:1 on the BSE. NSE cash turnover was Rs.10,920.95cr Vs. Rs.14,206.78cr on Friday.

Sectorally, it was a mixed bag. While IT, Oil, Metal and Realty were the underperforming sectors, strength was seen in select Banking, Sugar and Fertiliser stocks. Gainers amongst the index pivotals were M&M, ITC, Hindalco, HUL and ICICI Bank. Losers were Satyam Comp, Tata Motors, TCS, DLF and BHEL.

With the main indices yet to confirm that they are in a fresh uptrend and also due to continued global uncertainties, we continue with our strategy of taking a small exposure with respect to fresh positions in order to get your legs into the door. Aggressive positions can be built up once the markets enter a confirmed uptrend.

Read More

News- Sensex may touch the level of 29,000 by June 2009

Like Mumbaikars caught unawares by the recent spell of cold wave, investors have been struggling to adapt to the recurring bouts of volatility on the bourses over the last one month. But the weathermen of Dalal Street are expecting sunny skies by the end of this calendar year. Five of the six participants at the ET Round Table see the bellwether BSE Sensex between 20-22,000 then.

The panelists included Narayan Ramachandran, MD & Country Head, Morgan Stanley; Pankaj Vaish, MD & Head equities and fixed income, Lehman Brothers; Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, MD & CEO, Tata Asset Management; Gaurang Shah, MD, Kotak Life; Rashesh Shah, CEO, Edelweiss Capital; and Motilal Oswal, Chairman, Motilal Oswal Securities. The session was moderated by Ramesh Damani, director, Ramesh S Damani Finance.

Only one participant, Ved Prakash Chaturvedi felt that the market was likely to be around 18,000 levels on December 31, 2008. "But that does not mean that mutual fund investors will not make money," he added.

Mr Ramachandran expects a modest performance by the Sensex in the current calendar, but expects the benchmark to touch 29,000 by June next year. Slowing corporate earnings is one factor that most market watchers feel could hold back the market. However, the ET panelists are not too worried about it.

According to Mr Ramachandran and Mr Vaish, interest rates are showing signs of slackening and that could provide a support to corporate earnings over the next couple of years. "These (recent outflow of FII money) are not big things...they are just minor....India has attracted a lot of money and most of it came because of the fact that India is an attractive destination for money," said Mr Ramachandran. "The real thing that will decide is where fundamentals are going. I feel that they (fundamentals) are solid," he added.

Mr Shah felt that issue was not about whether earnings will grow 18% or 12%, but about the rate at which the Indian GDP would grow. "If you expect corporate earnings growth of 11-12%, it means we are looking at a GDP growth of 4.5 to 5 to 6%. But if you expect GDP growth rate to be around 8%, give or take 200 basis points, then a 17-18% corporate earnings growth is not difficult. And I haven't seen anybody—Indian or global—question India's 8% GDP growth rate," Mr Shah said.

While foreign funds have pulling out over the last few months, domestic liquidity has been a strong pillar of support and this trend is expected to continue, feels Mr Chaturvedi. "The kind of money we have seen that has flown in from the domestic investors in the last one year is certainly heartening," said Mr Chaturvedi. "My guess is that if you combine insurance and mutual funds and other (domestic) sources of inflows into the market, close to $2 billion of fresh money is coming into the market every month," he added.

Mr Gaurang Shah sees more investors tapping the stock market through Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs), mainly because of the handsome returns these products have delivered in the last four years of the Bull Run.

He excepts inflows of roughly $5 billion through various insurance schemes during the current quarter, a significant portion of which will be accounted for by ULIPs.

"I think relative disadvantage of insurance as a instrument vis-à-vis other fixed interest products has come down, which is also because real interest rates have reduced across the world over the last 10 years. So I see money continuing to come in," he said.

Read More

Markets on 15th Feb 2008

Markets recover smartly after a weak opening The markets opened lower this morning on the back of negative global cues.

Markets recover smartly after a weak opening The markets opened lower this morning on the back of negative global cues. However, the Indian markets managed to recover from the lows of the day and closed shop with hefty gains. The Indian markets also outperformed most of their Asian peers, which ended lower. While the Sensex was up 348.62 points or 1.96% at 18,115.25, the Nifty gained 100.9 points or 1.94% to close at 5302.9. Broadmarket indices also participated in the recovery as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 1.87% and 2.27% respectively. The market breadth was healthy, as A/D ratio was 2.6:1 on the BSE. NSE cash turnover was Rs. 14,206.78cr Vs. Rs.13,545.99cr. yesterday.

All the BSE Sectoral indices ended with gains. The outperformers were the BSE Metal, Oil & Gas, and Realty indices that surged more than 3%. Gainers from the index pivotals included Hindalco, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, SBI and Ranbaxy Labs. Losers were Maruti Suzuki, Grasim Inds, TCS and Ambuja Cement.

The markets have now closed with healthy gains for three days in a row. The main indices are also trading above the 200 day EMA and the 13 day short term moving averages, which is a healthy sign. However, as the main indices are yet to confirm that they are in a fresh uptrend and also due to continued global uncertainties, we recommend taking a small exposure with respect to fresh positions in order to get your legs into the door. Aggressive positions can be built up once the markets enter a confirmed uptrend.

Read More

R-Power gains over 5 per cent; outperforms Sensex

R-Power gains over 5 per cent; outperforms Sensex

Reliance Power, the Anil Ambani group's latest entry to bourses, today clocked a 5.3 per cent rise in its share price, snapping a three-day losing streak and outperforming the market benchmark Sensex in the process.

In a bullish market where the Sensex rose by 817 points or 4.82 per cent, shares of Reliance Power on Thursday closed for the first time in a positive territory. After hitting an intra-day peak of Rs 374.80, the stock settled 5.31 per cent up at Rs 370.05 at the BSE.

The stock had debuted on the bourses on Monday when it settled nearly 17 per cent below the issue price of Rs 450. The stock fell further by about five per cent on Tuesday and by about one per cent again on Thursday.

However, despite a recovery seen on the counter, today's closing price was still about Rs 80 below the price at which investors were alloted the shares in the country's biggest- ever IPO last month.

The company had scaled a lifetime peak of Rs 599.90 on February 11, while it hit a low of Rs 332.50 on Wednesday at the BSE.

Buying was seen across the Reliance pack of shares in today's trade. Among Anil Ambani group stocks, Reliance Communications rose 9.26 per cent, Reliance Energy gained 9.63 per cent, and Reliance Capital appreciated by 9.41 per cent, Reliance Natural Resources Ltd soared 12.91 per cent, while Adlabs Films saw its share price adding 8.58 per cent.

In elder brother Mukesh Ambani-led group, Reliance Industries rose 5.35 per cent, Reliance Petroleum gained 13.56 per cent, whereas Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd slipped 1.30 per cent.

Read More

Mkts: Bulls lift Sensex up by 585 pts at close – 1st Feb-2008

Mkts: Bulls lift Sensex up by 585 pts at close – 1^st Feb-2008

The bulls made it to the bourses at the stroke of the opening bell this morning and despite facing strong resistance from their rivals until around noon, turned in an inspired display to drive stock prices up sharply this afternoon. A smart recovery on Wall Street and in Asian markets and the positive start on the European bourses aided the sentiment today.

So terrific was the charge that the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty kept surging higher and higher in afternoon trade. However, information technology and select auto stocks held firm other blue chips had given up their early gains amid volatile trade this morning. However, it turned out to be free ride up the charts for stocks cutting across sectors this afternoon. Even mid and smallcap stocks, which had gone down sharply earlier in the day, bounced back in a telling fashion during the closing minutes.

While the Sensex, which hit a high of 18,312.40 in late afternoon trade, ended the session at 18,233.42 with a sparkling gain of 584.71 points or 3.31%, the Nifty settled at 5317.25, a few points down from a high of 5339.95, with a handsome gain of 3.5% or 179.80 points. In intra-day trades today, the Sensex touched a low of 17,534.96. The Nifty had dropped down to 5090.75 in mid morning trade.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE IT (5.77%) was the outstanding performer today. The Tech index moved up by nearly 4% while the Auto and Metal indices surged 3.54% and 3.63% respectively. The PSU, FMCG, and Oil & Gas barometers ended stronger by 2.47%, 2.69% and 2.82% respectively. The Bankex advanced by 1.91% while the Power and Healthcare indices firmed up by 2.47% and 1.06% respectively.

The Capital Goods index gained a modest 0.31% while the Consumer Durables and Realty indices finished marginally behind their previous closing levels.

The market breadth, despite several stocks recording a smart turnaround, was weak when trade ended for the day. Out of 2795 stocks traded on BSE today, 1613 stocks ended weak. 1114 stocks closed with gains and 68 stocks ended at their previous closing levels.

Except cement stocks ACC (down 3.7%) and Ambuja Cements (down 0.75%) and private sector bank major HDFC Bank (down marginally), all other Sensex components ended in the positive territory today.

IT stocks Satyam Computer Services (8.2%); Tata Consultancy Services (6.2%), Infosys Technologies (5.8%) and Wipro (5.8%) were in demand right through the session today.

Automobile stocks Tata Motors (6.85%), Maruti Suzuki (6.6%) and Bajaj Auto (4%) closed on a high note. Metal stocks Hindalco and Tata Steel shot up by 6.75% and 5.9% respectively. PSU oil & gas exploration major ONGC recorded a handsome gain of 5.7%. Housing finance stock HDFC gained nearly 5.5%. Telecom stock Bharti Airtel moved up by a little over 5%. Reliance Communications gained 1.7%.

ICICI Bank (4.55%), ITC (4.95%), Reliance Industries (2.55%), Cipla (4.15%), NTPC (3.85%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (2.45%) and Grasim Industries (2%) also had a profitable outing. State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Energy gained more than a percent. Mahindra & Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever chipped in with modest gains while BHEL and DLF finished marginally higher than their previous closing levels.

HCL Technologies, the biggest gainer in the Nifty, moved up by over 10%. Sterlite Industries gained 9.5%. BPCL rallied 6.8%. Reliance Petroleum, Tata Power, Cairn India, GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Suzlon Energy, GAIL India, ABB and VSNL ended with strong gains.

Nalco, Zee Entertainment, Siemens, Unitech, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Idea Cellular and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories closed with sharp losses.

Future Capital Holdings made a modest debut today. On the National Stock Exchange, the stock ended at Rs 909.80, a premium of nearly 19% to the IPO price of Rs 765. Around 12.54 million shares were transacted at the Future Capital Holdings counter on NSE today.

Read More