Indian Stock News by Experts

No entry load on Mutual Funds from Jan 4 2008

<DIV> <TABLE align='"center"'> <TBODY> <TR> <TD align='"center"'></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>As a New Year gift to mutual fund investors, market regulator Sebi on Monday exempted them from payment of entry fee on applications filed directly to the asset management companies (AMC). "It has now been decided that no entry load shall be charged for direct applications received by the AMCs i.e. applications received through Internet, submitted to AMCs or collection centre/ investor service centres that are not routed through any distributor/agent/broker," Securities and Exchange Board of India said in a circular. The exemption would apply for investments in existing schemes with affect from January 4, 2008 and in new schemes to be launched thereafter. The Sebi circular further said, the entry fee exemption would also apply to additional purchases made directly by the investors under the same folio or for switching from one scheme to the other. These exemptions, the SEBI said, were intended "to protect the interests of investors' securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market". "This is good and positive move and will help the mutual fund industry," said managing director of the Delhi-based Taurus Asset Management Company R K Gupta while commenting on the SEBI notification. Gupta further said that this decision was overdue and "for the past five years we have been pressing for this exemption". Sebi's move, however, would have adverse implications for the intermediaries who have been involved with the mutual fund industry.</DIV>

No entry load on Mutual Funds from Jan 4 2008

As a New Year gift to mutual fund investors, market regulator Sebi on Monday exempted them from payment of entry fee on applic...

2007 Stocks, stats

BSE Metal Ind up 122%, Cap Goods up 117%, Oil up 116% BSE IT Index down 13.9%, BSE Auto Index up 3% REL up 310%, RPL up 255%, SAIL up 220...

List of Trading Holidays - 2008

1. Mahashivratri 6th March 2008 Thursday 2. Id-E-Milad 20th March 2008 Thursday 3. Good Friday / Holi (1st Day) 21st March 2008 Friday 4....

Facts about NSE and BSE

<DIV>Market Cap: At the beginning of this bull run, the Indian stock market, as represented by NSE, was just another stock exchange in developing world. Though it was admired for its online trading platform, its gyrations hardly mattered to the world. Five years hence, NSE now ranks among the world's 10 biggest stock exchanges and India is inching closer to the status of being a global asset class. Since '03, NSE's market capitalisation has recorded a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55%. Obviously, no global fund manager will have the courage to ignore such high returns. In contrast, developed markets have witnessed a CAGR of 10-15%. What's more, with each 10% rise in NSE's market cap, it is improving its ranking by one notch. Don't be surprised if India breaks into the top five in next 2-3 years. As the market cap rises, so does the market breadth and its ability to absorb greater amount of capital. Besides, it reduces the probability of wide fluctuations and price aberrations. Number Of Trades: Critics may describe the rise as a fluke and temporary in nature, without realising the fact that the NSE is already the world's third busiest stock exchange in terms of the number of shares bought and sold. The bull run has been supported by an over 25% compounded growth in the number of trades. The fact that NSE can handle such a heavy load without a hitch proves the resilience of its system and raises the confidence of the global investment community in the Indian capital market. This will prove positive in attracting capital in Indian over the longer term. Value Of Shares Traded: In October this year, shares worth $564 billion were traded on the NSE — almost two-and-a-half times more than at the beginning of '03. Though volume growth in India lags that of other emerging markets, it has now crossed a psychological barrier of half-a-trillion dollars.</DIV>

Facts about NSE and BSE

Market Cap: At the beginning of this bull run, the Indian stock market, as represented by NSE, was just another stock exchange in developin...

The Coming Oil Crash

Crude at $100 a barrel makes good headlines but ignores basic economics. Why oil prices are in for a 50 percent drop. If you haven't ...

Weekly Close: bounce back with optimism !

<DIV>This was a positive week for the markets and surprisingly strong in the face of the FNO expiry for the December series. There were no major negative cues from global as well as domestic front and markets took hold strongly above 20000. Sessions overall were ranged after a sharp run up seen in thebeginning of the week. Most fund managers and investors in holiday mood were less involved. It was a holiday shortened week. Market terms this as santa rally and had indicated that last week that one could have expected that. We had a major event. Gujarat elections came in favour of BJP - on Modis leadership despite the anti-incumbency factor. Global credit woes continued there cry but US showed some resurgence on good corporate earnings. The F&O settlement also kept session ranged and choppy. December was a ranged month with FIIs outflow and that will keep investors worried. Sensex closed up over 5% this week. Weekly losers for the were Bajaj Auto -6.36%,Tata Motors -7.07% while gainers ruled the with TISCO 13.24%, REL 10.7%, DLF +10.5%, Bhel +8.49%, Hindalco +7.46%, HDFC+7.34%,WIPRO 7.13%, RIL 7.13%,MNM 6.4% ICICI BNAK 6.31%, HDFC 5.54%, SBI 5.38%, NTPC 5.27%,Satyam 5.2%, Infy 5% LNT 4.29%,ITC 4%, Ambuja Ceme +3.71%,Rcom 3.61%, TCS 3.5%, Bharti +2.56%. BSE Midcaps 4.47%, BSE Small Caps 6.9% Politics: Elections are nearing. Gujarat election was first step toward this . The BJP is seen in a strong position now in Himachal Pradesh as well. A strong BJP certainly will be an obstacle for the Nuclear deal It is likely to keep the Congress defensive and delay elections as much as possible. The Budget is the next important event and that may be a disappointment. The Congress may make this populist. Common man is likely to be the nucleus for the budget and that means focus would be on giving more to him. Inflation is another area of action. This has been under control but more because of a base effect. inflation remains a concern and it is a supply side issue. Food articles have seen a major upsurge and this is on the back of poor agriculture growth. Agriculture thus would be an area of focus. Crude is at an all time high and it would be really difficult for Govt. to cope up with this. If the Govt. doesnt hike petrol and diesel pricesit would only postpone the problem. If it does hike then the Govt would face the ire of the Left and certainly it cant afford this when elections stare it in the face. This would be a big issue going ahead and certainly there are no easy answers. The easy way out is not the best one Economically for the country. Some Geo political issues surfaced with Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. This means some risk from this angle as well and increased probable Militancy. However, such issues are unlikely to impact markets in any big way. At least not yet ! Cement counters regained strength post the MTPC probe for forming cartelisation. The Long term view still remains positive but valuations remain highly demanding. Telecom stocks managed to hold on. The license and spectrum issue continues and things would be though ahead. IT stocks saw some revival. Results are just ahead and they have risen on hope. On the face of results may appear positive but we believe that headwinds are still high in the form of an appreciating rupee, rising salary costs and poor business conditions nearing for clients. Banking sector remains a big sector exposure for the IT sector and the situation is not good. Karuturi continued to circuit. The company is the largest manufacturer of flowers post the Kenyan acquisition. The numbers would flow in top line and bottom line from this quarter. Flowers is really localised and fragmented business. But Karuturi has really done great job and is now a global company. Our research note would give you better idea on this. Adhunik is another success story. The company is into speciality steel back by iron ore mines. The story here is that it seems to be the only other mining play such as Sesa Goa and valuations remain undemanding. We had our research on WWIL this week. WWIL is a Multi Service Operator (MSO) and one of largest player in Cable and Satellite industry (C&S). However this industry is dominated by Local Cable Operators (LCO?s). The Goon squad background and the political backing of the of cable operators has made it difficult for MSOs to breakdown the LCOs chain. The industry is also highly fragmented and there are no signs of consolidation yet. Digitalisation is the only way of transition. Do read our note so as to know what action needs to be taken here. Fedder Lloyd is another interesting story. It is a niche player in India and caters to Defense and Railways. It has also forayed into Real Estate which seems to be a worry... but it can be also an opportunity. Our note would tell you more about this.</DIV>

Weekly Close: bounce back with optimism !

This was a positive week for the markets and surprisingly strong in the face of the FNO expiry for the December series. There were no major...

Realty firm in lacklustre market

<DIV>The market witnessed a sharp pull-back after witnessing a slump by afternoon. The Sensex had a weak start and lost over 59 points following reports of assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Most of the Asian markets were subdued fearing terrorists attacks in Pakistan might see withdrawal of foreign money from the region. However, the benchmark Sensex index moved up by 42 points to touch the day's high of 20,259 quickly, only to lose further ground in the absence of buying interest in frontline shares on rising geo-political concerns. The Sensex shed all its gains thereafter and touched the day's low of 20,023. But, recovered on some buying interest towards the close. After recovering around 190 points from the day's low the Sensex ended the session by shedding 10 points at 20,207. The Nifty closed the session by slipping two points at 6,080. Although the market ended on a negative note, the breadth of the market was positive. Of the 2,953 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,270 stocks advanced, 651 stocks declined and 32 stocks ended unchanged. Among the sectoral indices, BSE CD Index surged by 4.15% and BSE Realty index added 3.90%, while other sectoral indices gained around 1% each. However, BSE Teck Index, BSE IT Index and BSE Auto index slipped marginally. The index heavyweights witnessed some selling. Wipro slumped 3.52% at Rs530, Bharti Airtel lost 2.65% at Rs941, Bajaj Auto shed 2.30% at Rs2,611, TCS plunged 1.83% at Rs1,080, ICICI Bank crumbled by 1.20% at Rs1,227, ONGC declined 1.13% at Rs1,227, Maruti Suzuki dropped 1.05% at Rs984, while Tata Motors, HDFC and Infosys slipped marginally. Few counters, however, managed to buck the downtrend and ended in the green. DLF rose 5.31% at Rs1,064, Tata Steel moved up by 2.76% at Rs931, Ambuja Cement added 2.75% at Rs149 and Grasim gained 1.13% at Rs3,630 and Hindlaco ended higher by 1.11% at Rs213. Over 2.18 crore Spice Jet shares changed hands on the BSE followed by IKF Technology (1.83 crore shares), Himachal Futuristic (1.70 crore shares), RNRL (1.48 crore shares) and G V Films (1.43 crore shares). Valuewise, RNRL registered a turnover of Rs261 crore followed by Reliance Energy (Rs218 crore), Transformers & Rectifiers India (Rs193 crore), Spice Jet (Rs179 crore) and Essar Oil (Rs171 crore).</DIV>

Realty firm in lacklustre market

The market witnessed a sharp pull-back after witnessing a slump by afternoon. The Sensex had a weak start and lost over 59 points following...

Sensex soars 1,044 points

<DIV> The market surged ahead of Q3 December 2007 earnings reporting season. Strong global cues also boosted the sentiments. Stronger-than-expected US consumer spending calmed fears the world's top economy was heading into a recession. The market also cheered a comfortable victory for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Gujarat state election. The market further got a boost from reports the government has allowed all trusts to invest in securities, including shares and bonds of listed companies. Sensex gained in 3 out of 4 trading sessions in the week. The BSE Sensex surged 1,044.38 points or 5.45% to 20,206.95 in the week. The S&P CNX Nifty jumped 313.2 points or 5.43% to 6,079.70. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 549.03 points or 6.08% to 9,574.57. The BSE Small-Cap index surged 1,087.97 points or 9.2% to 12,901.29. It hit an all time high of 12,909.82 on Friday, 28 December 2007. Sensex rose 691.55 points or 3.61% to 19,854.12 on Monday, 24 December 2007. Bharti Airtel spurted. Reliance Industries edged higher. Reliance Energy hit all time high. The market breadth was strong. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 338.40 points or 1.70% to 20,192.52 on Wednesday, 26 December 2007. The market surged led by rally in index heavyweight Reliance Industries. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended up 24.20 points or 0.12% to 20,216.72 on Thursday, 27 December 2007. The market swayed between gains and losses ahead of expiry of December 2007 derivative contracts. The market breadth was strong. Reliance Industries declined. ICICI Bank moved up. Consumer durables, metal and PSU stocks were in demand. Auto and IT stocks declined. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 9.77 points or 0.05% to 20,206.95 on Friday 28 December 2007. The market ended flat on that day largely shrugging off geopolitical concerns arising from Pakistan's opposition party leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination in nuclear-armed Pakistan. Bhutto was killed on Thursday, 27 December 2007, at a rally in Rawalpindi, raising fears of instability in Pakistan. Mahindra & Mahindra gained 6.23% to Rs 834.40 in the week, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) is reportedly planning to enter the highly-competitive UK market with its flagship model Scorpio next year. Wipro jumped 7.76% to Rs 529.95 on reports that it may bid for France's Capgemini by the end of January 2008 in a deal valuing the latter at around $7 billion. Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services. However Wipro denied these reports. Larsen & Toubro rose 4.17% to Rs 4,150.30 on reports it has floated a power generation firm Larsen & Toubro Power Development and is planning to generate 5,000 megawatt in the next five years. According to the current estimates, the cost of the proposed power capacity would be Rs 20,000 crore. Meanwhile, L&T said on Wednesday, 26 December 2007, its subsidiary L&T Oman LLC had secured an order worth $110.37 million from Muscat Golf Course Project LLC. State Bank of India advanced 5.26% to Rs 2,384.45 on reports that its board of directors will meet on 25 January 2008 to consider the merger of its six associate banks with itself. As per reports, the respective boards of State Bank of India (SBI)'s associate banks are expected to give an in-principle nod to the merger. These associates include the listed banks - State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and unlisted banks State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Indore, and State Bank of Patiala Oil & Natural Gas Corporation gained 3.01% to Rs 1,226.75, on reports it would raise $20 billion to buy stakes in major oil and gas properties overseas. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is expected to finalize agreements in Turkmenistan, Iran, Latin America and West Africa, reports suggest. Tata Steel (up 12.92% to Rs 931.40), Reliance Energy (up 11.11% to Rs 2,155.30), Reliance Industries (up 6.77% to Rs 2,898.35), ICICI Bank (up 6.06% to Rs 1,227.10), Infosys Technologies (up 5.73% to Rs 1,795.75), HDFC Bank (up 5.11% to Rs 1,730.85), Satyam Computer Services (up 5.12% to Rs 449.60), Reliance Communications (up 3.69% to Rs 732.60), Tata Consultancy Services (up 3.33% to Rs 1,080.05) were major gainers from Sensex pack. India's wholesale price index rose 3.45% in the 12 months to 15 December 2007, lower than the previous week's rise of 3.65%, government data showed on Friday, 28 December 2007. The annual inflation rate was 5.73% during the corresponding week of the previous year. The wholesale price index is more closely watched than the consumer price index, which is published monthly, because it covers a higher number of products and is published weekly. The market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday, 27 December 2007, gave nod to BSE and NSE for launch of mini derivative (futures & options) contract on BSE Sensex and S&P CNX Nifty respectively. The mini derivative contract on Sensex and Nifty will have a minimum contract size of Rs 1 lakh at the time of its introduction in the market. The infrastructure sector grew 4.5% in October 2007 over 9.9% in October 2006. The six key infrastructure industries comprising cement, crude, refining, coal, electricity and steel rose grew by 6.2% in the April-October 2007 compared with 8.9% in April-October 2006. Infrastructure growth data for September 2007 was revised downwards to 5.5%. The third, and probably the final, round of negotiations for India-specific safeguards with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to take place in Vienna early January 2008. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Gujarat elections on 23 December 2007 by bagging 117 of the 182 seats. The Congress party bagged 59 seats which could mean a setback to the party's plans to call an early national election. The market regulator Securtities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday, 27 December 2007, proposed to clear mutual funds products on a fast-track basis. To begin with, fixed maturity plans (FMP) with closed ended income schemes can be offered on a fast track basis, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said. Under the proposal for fast-track clearance, a fund house can file a final offer document with the regulator along with compliance certificates and fees. After the filing, the regulator will confirm the receipt of the documents and the fund house can offer the scheme to investors. On 26 December 2007, the government approved spectrum review committee's recommendation of allocating additional frequency to existing GSM operators based on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) subscriber linked formula and in multiples of 1 MHz. The GSM operators were getting additional spectrum in the multiples of 2.4-2.8 MHz and lowering it to 1 MHz would hit the operators as this would mean additional capital expenditure for them. According to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and KPMG 'India Energy Inc. – Emerging Opportunities & Challenges', released on 26 December 2007, India's power and upstream energy sectors need investments to the tune of $120–150 billion in the next five years. </DIV>

Sensex soars 1,044 points

The market surged ahead of Q3 December 2007 earnings reporting season. Strong global cues also boosted the sentiments. Stronger-than-expec...

Benazir Bhutto succumbs to injury

<DIV> Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto died on Thursday from her injuries sustained in a suicide attack, a party aide said. <img align="left" src="http://www.moneycontrol.com/news_image_files/Bhutto_Benazir1.jpg">''At 6:16 pm she expired,'' said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital where Bhutto died. A senior military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, confirmed that Bhutto had died. The death of the charismatic former prime minister threw the campaign for the January 8 election into chaos and created fears of mass protests and an eruption of violence across the volatile south Asian nation. The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed a rally of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself up, said Rehman Malik, Bhutto's security adviser. Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery. ''At 6:16 p.m. (6.46 pm IST) she expired,'' said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital. ''The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred,'' Senator Babar Awan, Bhutto's lawyer, said. Bhutto's supporters at the hospital exploded in anger, smashing the glass door at the main entrance of the emergency unit. Others burst into tears. One man with a flag of Pakistan People's Party tied around his head was beating his chest. Some at the hospital began chanting, ''Killer, Killer, Musharraf,'' referring to President Pervez Musharraf, Bhutto's main political opponent. A few began stoning cars outside. ''We repeatedly informed the government to provide her proper security and appropriate equipment including jammers, but they paid no heed to our requests,'' Malik said. Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and opposition leader, arrived at the hospital and sat silently next to Bhutto's body. US officials said they were looking into reports of Bhutto's death. ''Certainly, we condemn the attack on this rally. It demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy,'' said deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey. The United States has for months been encouraging Musharraf to reach some kind of political accommodation with the opposition, particular Bhutto, who is seen as having a wide base of support here. Bhutto served twice as Pakistan's prime minister between 1988 and 1996. She had returned to Pakistan from an eight-year exile on October 18. Her homecoming parade in Karachi was also targeted by a suicide attacker, killing more than 140 people. On that occasion she narrowly escaped injury. The scene of the bombing Tuesday was awash in blood. An Associated Press reporter could see body parts and flesh scattered at the back gate of the Liaqat Bagh park where Bhutto had spoken. He counted about 20 bodies, including police, and could see many other wounded people. Party supporter Chaudry Mohammed Nazir said two gunshots rang out when Bhutto's vehicle pulled into the main street and then there was a huge blast next to her car. Police cordoned off the street with white and red tape, and rescue workers rushed to put victims in ambulances as people wailed nearby. The clothing of some of the victims was shredded and people put party flags over their bodies. Police caps and shoes littered the asphalt. On Thursday, hundreds of riot police had manned security checkpoints to guard the venue. It was Bhutto's first public meeting in Rawalpindi since she came back to the country. In November, Bhutto had also planned a rally in the city, but President Pervez Musharraf forced her to cancel it, citing security fears. In recent weeks, suicide bombers have repeatedly targeted security forces in Rawalpindi, a city near the capital where Musharraf stays and the Pakistan army has its headquarters (Source: <A href="http://www.ibnlive.com">www.ibnlive.com</A>)</DIV>

Benazir Bhutto succumbs to injury

Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto died on Thursday from her injuries sustained in a suicide attack, a party aide said. '...

Market Close: Choppy sessions post the santa rally?

<DIV>It was a choppy day for the markets on last F&O expiry session for the year 2007. Indian markets had a good start with gapup points but sooner gave up most of its morning gains made and traded absolutely flat till mid session. Trading session continued to be choppy through out the day with occasional dips in negative territory. Alternate bouts of buying and selling activities restricted the movement of the indices within a narrow range but However 20K level was maintained till the final hour. For the December F&O series Nifty was up 8%, BSE smallcap up 21%, Nifty rollover position was seen at 75% Vs 60% last month and market wide turnover at 80% which shows market outlook looks positive. Small cap (up 2.2%) counter continued to witness buying interest and out performed the mid caps and index heavy weights. FMCG, Metal, Oil and Power stocks traded with buying support while Auto, Reality and Pharma counter were under selling pressure. Asian markets ended in mixed cue while European indices continued to trade marginally higher in green. Sensex closed higher by 24 points at 20216.721. It was helped up by gains in Wipro (549.3,+3 percent), HDFC Bk (1744.95,+2 percent), ICICI Bk (1242,+2 percent), ITC (203.35,+2 percent) and TISCO (906.35,+2 percent). Restricting the gains were Tata Motors (736.7,-2 percent), Satyam (451.4,-2 percent), RCVL (730.8,-2 percent), Bharti Tele (966.3,-2 percent) and Ranbaxy (411.5,-1 percent). Capex plans announced by Videocon Ind were the primary reasons for Videocon ind to be in lime light. Company intends to invest $ 5 bn in power projects in Gujarat and has announced bids for the project. Videocon is a well known player in the consumer durables industry. Margins from the consumer durable business of the country can come under pressure with increase in the organised retail by players with deep pockets. The other business of the company includes oil extraction, where company has 25% partnership. Unconfirmed reports state that the company intends to re structure its business and separate the oil exploration business and the consumer durables business. That would be done with an intention to unlock the share holders. Any fresh position in Videocon at this point is not recommended from the long term point of view till more information is revealed by the company. However, trading up sides are worth considering as the volumes have increased considerably on this counter. Videocon Ind closed higher by 9% for the day. Karuturi bloomed amid choppy sessions on the back of strong fundamentals and closed higher by 10%. Company is the largest Rose cultivator in the country. The proposed acquisition in Kenya would make company the largest cultivator in the world. Karuturi has 10 hectares in India where it produces 15 mn stems. The company has 50 hectares operational in Ethiopia with a capacity of over 80 mn stems. An additional 50 hectares is planned and expected to go live next year. Karuturi Networks has been allotted additional 450 hectares of land by the Government of Ethiopia for its expansion and diversification projects. Cost of air freight out of Ethiopia is $1 per kg of rose as against $2.5 per kg out of India, a 60% cost saving. Setting up operations in Ethiopia, it could avoid a customs duty of 28% levied on goods entering the US. We are positive on the company and have a wow call running on the company as well. Do read our note on the company to know more. Technically Speaking: Markets traded in narrow range with positive market breadth . Intra day high for the day was 20,324 while sensex touched an intra day low of 20,160. Advances out numbered declines in the ratio of 3:1. Resistance is at 20,600 levels while support lies at 20,020-19,710 levels. Volume of Rs 8,232 cr was churned out through out the day.</DIV>

Market Close: Choppy sessions post the santa rally?

It was a choppy day for the markets on last F&O expiry session for the year 2007. Indian markets had a good start with gapup points but...

US Market fights for a late recovery

<DIV> Nasdaq outpaces other indices with help of Apple which crosses $200 for first time US Market ended little higher today, Wednesday, 26 December, 2007 with the Nasdaq clearly outpacing the other two indices. Trading volume was quite light as expected due to the ongoing holiday season. Traders became concerned with disappointing holiday sales figure and also some weak housing report. Apple shares crossed the $200/mark for the first time ever. Crude oil prices shot up and crossed the $96/barrel once again as traders expected a drawdown in crude inventories in tomorrow's report. The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a mere gain of 2.36 points at 13,551.7. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 10.9 points at 2,724.41. S&P 500 finished edged higher by 1.2 points at 1,497.7. Twelve out of thirty Dow stocks ended higher for the day. Citigroup and Walt Disney were a couple of the major Dow laggards. Exxon Mobil, Caterpillar and IBM were a few Dow winners. Alcoa and GE were a couple of main Dow winners for the day. Target was today's worst performing retail stock after the company warned its December same-store sales will come up short of expectations. The company said it now expects sales to be down 1% to up 1%, well below the previous forecast that called for sales to rise 3% to 5%. Also, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index indicated October home prices dropped a more than expected 6.1% on a y-o-y basis. Market expected a drop of 5.7%. Apple shares cross $200 mark for first time ever Dow remained in the red for most part of the day. It inched up in the green territory in the final hour of trading after much dillydallying. Five out of ten economic sectors posted loss today. Apple shares were mainly responsible for taking Nasdaq higher. Shares of Apple crossed $200 mark for the first time due to higher iPod, iPhone and Macintosh sales. Indian ADRs ended in green today. ICICI Bank was the topmost winner gaining 3.4%. It was followed by Wipro Technologies which gained 2.3%. Expectations of lower crude inventory and Turkish air strikes sent crude prices almost $2/barrel higher today. Prices have been on a roll since last Friday, 21 December and have gained more than $5/barrel since then. Prices once again crossed the $96/barrel mark today. Price also rose as the greenback slipped against its rival currencies. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed at $95.97/barrel (higher by $1.84/barrel or 2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures rose as high as $96.6 earlier in the day. Prices are 57% higher than the year before. On the New York Stock Exchange, more than 838 million shares were traded, with declining stocks roughly equaling advancing stocks. More than 1.2 billion shares exchanged hands on the Nasdaq, with advancers outpacing decliners by 16 to 13. Tomorrow, investors will focus on economic reports to set the tone of trading. The Commerce Dept.'s Durable Orders report is scheduled to hit the wires at 8:30 ET, along with unemployment claims for the week ended 15 December. Those reports will be followed by the Energy Dept.'s weekly inventories report at 10:30 ET.</DIV>

US Market fights for a late recovery

Nasdaq outpaces other indices with help of Apple which crosses $200 for first time US Market ended little higher today, Wednesday, 26 Dec...

Mid market report

<DIV>The market has now slipped from the opening highs and is trading with marginal gain. The heavy buying is seen in the Metal and Capital Goods stocks. However the Health Care stocks today are facing the selling pressure. The BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap however outperformed the benchmark index today. The overall market breadth remains positive, as 2069 stocks are advancing while 777 stocks are declining and the 42 stocks remained unchanged on BSE. The BSE Mid cap is higher by 46.84 points at 9,447.70 and the BSE small Cap advanced by 242.94 points to trade at 12,585.43. At 12.31 pm, BSE Sensex was at 20,224.98 up by 32.46 points whereas Nifty was at 6,076.85 up by 6.10 points. BSE Metal index surged 186.40 points to trade at 19,477.74. The major gainers are Nalco (7.95%), Hindalco Industries (2.38%), SAIL (1.85%) and Tata Steel (1.01%). Nalco has planned to invest Rs11,000 Crore in a mega Greenfield smelter and thermal power project in Indonesia. BSE Capital goods index increased 52.26 points to 19,706.57. The main gainers are BEML (3.31%), Areva (3.23%), Bharat Electrical (2.14%) and L&T (0.35%). BSE Banks index advanced by 61.70 points to trade at 11,351.78. The major gainers are Yes Bank (2.68%), HDFC Bank (1.96%), ICICI Bank (1.20%) and Union Bank (0.22%). BSE Power index inclined by 16.29 points to trade at 4,460.05 as Power Grid (1.81%), Suzlon Energy (1.57%), Reliance Energy (1.10%) and Crompton Greaves (0.68%) are trading higher. BSE IT index inclined by 21.75 points to trade at 4,613.62 as NIIT Techno. (1.47%), HCL Tech. (0.47%), Wipro (0.43%) and I-flex (0.29%) are trading in positive territory. BSE Auto index increased by 4.69 points to trade at 5,647.59. Leading to its gain are MRF (1.93%), Cummins India (1.65%), Maruti Suzuki (0.54%) and TVS Motor (0.35%). BSE Oil & Gas index was trading 4.13 points higher at 13,120.12 as Essar Oil (5.54%), ONGC (0.87%), Indian Oil (0.84%) and RPL (0.18%) are trading in green.</DIV>

Mid market report

The market has now slipped from the opening highs and is trading with marginal gain. The heavy buying is seen in the Metal and Capital Good...

Govt approves FDI proposals

<DIV>The government today gave its approval for 19 foreign direct investment proposals amounting to Rs 726.88 crore, which include Global Broadcast News Ltd's proposal to sell 26 per cent stake for Rs 500 crore. GBN is a part of media group Network 18. The proposal of Cyprus-based Dunbay to acquire additional 5 per cent stake in Delhi Stock Exchange for Rs 10.61 crore has also been approved. "The Finance Minister approved 19 FDI proposals recommended by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting held on December 14," said a Finance Ministry statement here. GBN has proposed to induct up to 26 per cent FDI worth Rs 500 crore, including investment by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). The broadcaster, which runs English news channel CNN-IBN, had raised around Rs 105 crore from the capital market with an initial public offer (IPO) early this year. The company has also announced to set up a joint venture with Jagran Group to bring out a business newspaper in Hindi language. The government also gave its approval to the UK based- Middlebrough Oils to invest Rs 200 crore to set up a subsidiary to undertake extraction of crude Jatropha oil from Jatropha seeds. Daimler Chrysler of Germany has also been allowed to set up a joint venture company to undertake body building of buses.</DIV>

Govt approves FDI proposals

The government today gave its approval for 19 foreign direct investment proposals amounting to Rs 726.88 crore, which include Global Broadc...

FIIs in buying mode

Inflow of Rs 167.40 crore on 24 December 2007 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth net Rs 167.40 crore o...

Gold heads for seventh straight annual gains

<DIV> Boosted by dollar weakness and rising crude, gold crosses $830 mark once again <SCRIPT language=Javascript>  </SCRIPT> Precious metals ended higher today, Wednesday, 26 December, 2007 after the dollar slipped against almost all its rival currencies. Gold crossed the $830/ounce mark once again and marked the highest price in almost a month. Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S. currency. Gold, as a dollar-denominated commodity, suffers from dollar strength. Comex Gold for February delivery rose $13 (1.6%) to close at $829.5 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange today. Prices touched $830.2/ounce during intra day trading. Last week, the yellow metal gained $17.4/ounce (2.2%). On, 7 November, prices had touched $848/ounce. It was the highest price after a record $873 on 21 January, 1980. Comex Silver futures for March delivery rose 17.5 cents (1.2%) to $14.835 an ounce. Prices touched 26 year high on 7 November, after reaching $16.275. The metal has climbed 15% this year. Gold is headed for a seventh straight annual gain. In 2006, silver had jumped 46% while gold gained 23%. Gold has traditionally been used as a safe-haven asset against rising inflation. Investor sentiments are boosted by the fact that gold and silver are alternate sources of good investment in the face of declining dollar and rising energy prices. Rising crude increases inflationary pressures and vice versa. On the other hand strong dollar reduces the appeal of the metal as alternate source of investment. In the currency market today, the dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell for a third day, down 0.6% to 77.14. In the energy market, oil prices ended substantially higher after crossing the $96/barrel mark on supply concerns and Turkish airstrikes. Gold had climbed 30% this year till date as lower interest rates had sent the dollar tumbling, and crude-oil prices rose to a record. Dollar is still 9% down against the euro this year. The Fed has reduced overnight lending rates by 1% in FY 2007. On 11 December, Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate by a quarter-point to 4.25%. The Fed also lowered its discount rate, the interest it charges on direct loans it makes to banks, by a quarter-point to 4.75%. Before 11 December, Federal Reserve had cut the fed funds rate by a quarter-point to 4.50% on 31 October, 2007. Prior to that, Federal Reserve had cut interest rates by half percentage point on 19 September, 2007. With these interest rate cuts, dollar has been tumbling down. Market anticipates that there will be more rate cut in the coming year. </DIV>

Gold heads for seventh straight annual gains

Boosted by dollar weakness and rising crude, gold crosses $830 mark once again Precious metals ended higher today, Wednesday, 26 Decem...

Crude oil rallies

<DIV> Prices rise more than $2/barrel on anticipation that crude inventories will show a drop <SCRIPT language=Javascript>  </SCRIPT> Expectations of lower crude inventory and Turkish air strikes sent crude prices almost $2/barrel higher today. Prices have been on a roll since last Friday, 21 December and have gained more than $5/barrel since then. Prices once again crossed the $96/barrel mark today. Price also rose as the greenback slipped against its rival currencies. For the day ending Monday, 26 December, 2007, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed at $95.97/barrel (higher by $1.84/barrel or 2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures rose as high as $96.6 earlier in the day. Prices are 57% higher than the year before. The Turkish military announced today that its warplanes hit eight suspected Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq. Today's bombing raid was at least the third air operation in Iraq this month. Iraq has the world's third-largest crude-oil reserves. Also, traders anticipated today that in tomorrow's weekly inventory report, EIA will report a drop of 1.2 million barrels in crude inventory. This also led to crude price shooting up. In the currency market today, the dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell for a third day, down 0.6% to 77.14. Brent crude oil for February settlement today rose $1.24 (1.3%) to $93.94 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Today, January natural gas rose as crude oil and related products rose. Gas for January delivery rose 2.1 cents (0.3%) to settle at $7.046 per million British thermal units Against this backdrop, January reformulated gasoline gained 6.86 cents to $2.4526 a gallon and January heating oil rose 4.65 cents to $2.6412 a gallon. As per EIA, global oil markets will likely remain tight through 2008 and monthly average oil prices are expected to near $85 per barrel over the next year. The IEA, an adviser to 27 nations, said global demand in 2008 will rise 2.5% to 87.8 million barrels a day. The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly report on inventories tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in Washington, a day later than usual because of Christmas. </DIV>

Crude oil rallies

Prices rise more than $2/barrel on anticipation that crude inventories will show a drop Expectations of lower crude inventory and Turk...

Sensex moves above 20000

<DIV>A late spurt in index heavyweight Reliance Industries on Wednesday saw the Sensex and Nifty close above the 20,000 and 6,000 marks, respectively, after remaining firm throughout the day. Even so, midcaps and smallcaps outperformed the benchmarks. Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex settled at 20,192.52, up 1.70 per cent or 338.40 points. It touched an intra-day high of 20,211.47. The low was 19,896.61. National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended at 6070.75, up 85 points or 1.43 per cent. It scaled a high of 6085.25 from a low of 5988.45. Investor interest in second rung shares saw the BSE Midcap Index end up 2 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index 3 per cent higher. However, volume has been low the last few sessions on account of thin investor participation. The NSE today clocked a turnover of Rs 15,693 crore against Rs 18,235.85 crore week ago. "Although the Nifty has recovered smartly, the low volume is a cause of concern. Only if the Nifty breaks 6185 decisively, can the index see a good upmove," said Manas Jaiswal, senior technical analyst with Emkay Shares & Stock Brokers. Shares of oil & gas companies posted smart gains. State-owned HPCL surged 6.78 per cent, BPCL added 5.46 per cent and IOC gained 6.55 per cent. Reliance Industries rose nearly 4 per cent. After lying low for most of the day, the BSE IT Index ended flat. Satyam Computer finished up 1.04 per cent, Infosys Technologies inched 0.15 per cent higher and Wipro was up 0.07 per cent. DLF (up 4.35%), Hindalco Industries (4.18%), Reliance Industries (3.90%), Tata Steel (3.51%), Tata Motors (3.3%), State Bank of India ( 2.97%) and BHEL (2.63%) were the biggest Sensex gainers. Bajaj Auto (down 1.14%), TCS (0.99%), ONGC (0.90%), Hindustan Unilever (0.39%), HDFC (0.27%) were the laggards. Across BSE, 2,283 shares advanced, 639 declined and 23 remained unchanged.</DIV>

Sensex moves above 20000

A late spurt in index heavyweight Reliance Industries on Wednesday saw the Sensex and Nifty close above the 20,000 and 6,000 marks, respect...

Post Session Market Commentary

<DIV>The market closed with handsome gains on the back of heavy buying pressures across the counters. The investors showed their eagerness in buying to book their positions. Since from the initial bell the market keeps on trading on the front foot through out the trading session. The market also got a further direction on the back of reports that government has allowed all trusts to invest in securities including shares and bonds of listed companies. The Metal, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas indices scrips remained in the limelight as most buying is seen from these baskets. Both the BSE Mid cap and Small Cap closed higher by 189.15 points and 361.92 points at 9,400.86 and 12,342.49 respectively. The BSE Sensex closed with heavy gains of 338.40 points at 20,192.52 and NSE Nifty closed higher by 85.65 points at 6,070.75. Overall, the market breadth was strong as 2,283 stocks are closed in green while 639 stocks are closed in red. BSE Metal index surged 470.55 points to close at 19,291.34. Scrips that grew are Bhushan Steel 10.30%, Sh Precoated 6.57%, Hindalco 4.18%, Jindal Steel 3.56%, Tata Steel 3.51%. BSE Oil & Gas index grew by 437.67 points to close at 13,115.99. Pushed up by Essar Oil 7.93%, HPCL 6.78%, IOCL 6.55%, BPCL 5.46%, Reliance industries 3.90% and RPL 3.39%. BSE Capital goods index inclined by 430.43 points to close at 19,654.31. Jumped by Crompton Greaves 6.09%, BEML 3.79%, Punj Lloyd 3.78%, BHEL 2.63%, L&T 2.57% and ABB 2.39%. BSE Realty index closed up by 291.47 points at 12,109.99 as Ansal Infra 9.42%, Parsvnath 7.87%, DLF 4.35%, Sobha Dev 2.72%, Mahindra Life 2.45% and Indbul Real 2.28% closed in green. BSE Bankex index advanced by 188.34 points to close at 11,290.08. Scrips that grew are Kotak bank 4.74%, IOB 3.41%, Andhra bank 3.15%, Andhra bank 3.15%, BOI 3.05% and SBI 2.97%. BSE IT index closed with marginal gains of 10.26 points at 4,591.87. Scrips that gained are Karut Net 10%, Aptech 4.41%, I-Flex 3.54%, Rolta India 2.97%, Finance tech 1.51% and Satyam 1.04%.</DIV>

Post Session Market Commentary

The market closed with handsome gains on the back of heavy buying pressures across the counters. The investors showed their eagerness in bu...

Sensex ends on bullish note

<DIV>Riding on the back of three straight sessions of gains, the Sensex opened firm at 19,941 and crossed the 20,000 mark by mid-morning trades. Short coverings in December derivative contracts and firm global cues triggered major buying in Sensex stocks in morning trades. The Sensex rallied sharply as investors continued to roll over positions to January series and the Sensex touched an intra-day high of 20,212 by afternoon. The market remained buoyant for the entire trading session on substantial buying support from oil, metal, and capital goods stocks. The Sensex finally wrapped up the session with gains of 1.70% or 338 points at 20,193. The Nifty advanced by 1.43% or 85 points at 6,071. The breadth of the market was positive. Of the 2,945 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,283 stocks advanced, 639 stocks declined and 23 stocks ended unchanged. All the sectoral indices on the BSE ended in positive territory. The BSE Oil & Gas ended firm with gains of 3.49% at 13,121,the BSE Realty index rose 2.82% at 12,152 and the BSE Metal index added 2.34% at 19,262. Action in several index heavyweights lifted the market. DLF led the pack and shot up by 4.35% at Rs1,014. Hindalco soared 4.18% at Rs209, Reliance Industries surged 3.90% at Rs2,897, Tata Steel flared up by 3.51% at Rs893, Tata Motors jumped by 3.31% at Rs751, SBI added 2.97% at Rs2,399, BHEL advanced by 2.63% at Rs2,555, Reliance Energy moved up by 2.58% at Rs2,112 and L&T was up 2.57% at Rs4,194. However, Bajaj Auto slipped 1.14% at Rs2,682, while TCS at Rs1,098, ONGC at Rs1,236, HLL at Rs215 and HDFC at Rs2,889 dropped marginally. Over 2.41 crore GV Films shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Ispat Industries (1.92 crore shares), IKF Technologies (1.79 crore shares), Bella Steel (1.23 crore shares) and Reliance Petroleum (1.08 crore shares). Valuewise, Reliance Energy registered a turnover of Rs199 crore on the BSE followed by reliance Industries (Rs173 crore), Reliance Communications (Rs145 crore), L&T (Rs68 crore) and DLF (Rs52 crore).</DIV>

Sensex ends on bullish note

Riding on the back of three straight sessions of gains, the Sensex opened firm at 19,941 and crossed the 20,000 mark by mid-morning trades....

What is short selling?

<DIV> What is short-selling? Short-selling, in the context of the stock market, is the practice where an investor sells shares that he does not own at the time of selling them. He sells them in the hope that the price of those shares will decline, and he will profit by buying back those shares at a lower price. In India, there is no prohibition on short-selling by retail investors. Institutional investors —domestic mutual funds and foreign institutional investors registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), banks and insurance companies — are prohibited from short-selling and are mandatorily required to settle on the basis of deliveries of securities owned and held by them. How is short-selling beneficial? Short-selling is considered an essential feature of the securities market not just for providing liquidity, but also for helping price corrections in over valued stocks. Supporters of short-selling claim its absence distort efficient price discovery, gives promoters the unfettered freedom to manipulate prices and favours manipulators than rational investors. Securities market regulators in most countries, and in particular, all developed securities markets, recognise short-selling as a legitimate investment activity. The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has also reviewed short-selling and securities lending practices across markets and has recommended transparency of short-selling, rather than prohibit it. Are there any drawbacks of short-selling? Critics of short-selling feel selling, directly or indirectly, poses potential risks and can easily destabilise the market. They believe that short-selling can exacerbate declining trend in share prices, increase share price volatility, and force the price of individual stocks down to levels that might not otherwise be reached. They also argue that declining trend in the share prices of a company can even impact its fund raising capability and undermine the commercial confidence of the company. In a bear market in particular, short-selling can contribute to disorderly trading, give rise to heightened short-term price volatility and could be used in manipulative trading strategies. Will institutional investors in India be allowed to short-sell securities? Sebi is working on a proposal to introduce a stock borrowing and lending mechanism. This will allow institutional investors to short-sell by borrowing shares. Under this arrangement, an investor A, who feels that a certain stock is overpriced, borrows those shares for a charge from investor B, who is willing to lend those shares. Investor A then sells those shares in the market, hoping that the price declines so that he can buy cheap and return them to investor B. What is the difference between covered short sales and naked short sales? Covered short sales are those in which the seller arranges for the delivery of shares he has sold by borrowing them. Naked short sales are those in which the seller does not intend to provide for the delivery of shares he has sold. Most international securities market regulators have prohibited naked short-selling and require the client to have documentary evidence of borrowing/tie-up with lenders before executing the sale transaction. This is because naked short sales in huge quantities can destabilise the market. How does the stock lending and borrowing mechanism function in other markets? World over, securities lending and borrowing transactions are, by and large, over-the-counter (OTC) contractual obligations executed between lenders and borrowers. International securities market regulators do not directly regulate the lending and borrowing transactions. In many international markets, entities like custodians and depositories run the lending and borrowing scheme and have their own screens for meeting the demand and supply of securities from their clients. Via ET</DIV>

What is short selling?

What is short-selling? Short-selling, in the context of the stock market, is the practice where an investor sells shares that he does no...

REL, RPL, RNRL December futures at premium

Turnover in F&O segment rises Nifty December 2007 futures were at 6009.50, at a premium of 24.40 points as compared to the spot closin...

Market Close: Jingled up all the way..!

<DIV>Celebration day across as Indices rallied ahead of Christmas with encouraging supportive from global markets. Sectors like Techies, Banks, Metal, Telecom and capital goods were the frontrunners for the day which took indices up 700 points. Gujarat election also supported with positive sentiments. More value buying was seen in IT index ahead of results season nearing and index ended up by 6%. Mid Caps and smallcap also joined the party of Christmas celebration up by 2% & 1.5% each and relative out performing movement seen in large caps also. The momentum was in fact maintained till the final hour to end up near to days high. Asian markets had a strong session of trade on back of positive cues from US and ended in green while Europe also continued to trade in green. Sensex ended up by 692 points at 19854.119. It was helped up by gains in Wipro (535.3,+9 percent), Infosys (1810.9,+7 percent), HDFC (2897.3501,+6 percent), Satyam (454.55,+6 percent) and Rel Energy (2058.8999,+6 percent). Restricting the gains were Bajaj Auto (2712.95,-3 percent), Dr Reddys (719.7,0 percent), Maruti (990.15,0 percent), ACC (1001.25,0 percent). KEI Industries was on limelight. KEI manufactures high and low tension cables, control and instrumentation cables, house wires and stainless steel wires. KEI is one of the few companies in the country to manufacture Speciality cables including braided cables, fire survival and zero halogen cables. It enjoys the switching production between HT and LT cables depending upon prevailing market conditions and demand. KEI now manufactures the wide range of product basket with nearly four decades of solid experience. KEI enjoys wide acceptability across sectors such as Oil refineries, railways, power, cement, steel and various other industrial sectors due to its ability of custom manufacture highly specialized cables to the exacting product and application needs of its prestigious clientele. The current cable capacity of the company is 40,000 kms which is expected to increase to 56,000 kms by the end of March 2008. Expansion plans are on cards. Recently Company has inaugurated a new plant for manufacturing of HT and LT power cable at Chopanki. Stock ended up 10%. We are positive on the business as company expansion for the first phase has completed and it is in line with the industry demand. Expect detailed research findings soon in this space. Oil marketing companies witnessed a smart move today as Indian government is considering to revise oil prices as it is not possible for it to keep the present level of prices indefinitely due to upsurge in the international market. Delhi government today imposed 25 paisa cess on Diesel which turned negative for the Auto majors like Tata Motors and Maruti. Heavy subsidies had kept the prices low despite surge in international market from US$ 36 to US$ 100 per barrel. The government has so far passed on only a fifth of the hike to consumers despite the fact the crude oil prices had risen 150%. The government is giving subsidies to the tune of over Rs. 100000 crore during the current financial year in petroleum, fertilizer and food sectors. If the prices are raised then it will come as a welcome relief to the OMCs like IOC, HPCL and BPCL, which have been reeling under the under-recoveries. Stocks like IOC up by 4.8%, BPCL (up 3.4%) and HPCL up 2.3% being the key gainers for the day. Technically speaking: Markets traded strong with positive breadth. Sensex touched intraday high of 19879 and low of 19308. Turnover was at Rs 5657 Cr. Market breadth was in favor of Advances at 1903, while Declines stood at 979. Sensex has pulled back from its lows, yet the day's volumes were comparatively less. This seems to be a pullback rally and we expect downside to start again if Sensex fails to close above 20k within this week. Traders are advised to cut their longs on pullback and stay on the sidelines. Sensex support is seen at 19640 and 19480 levels and Resistance near 19900 and 20020.</DIV>

Market Close: Jingled up all the way..!

Celebration day across as Indices rallied ahead of Christmas with encouraging supportive from global markets. Sectors like Techies, Banks, ...

Market celebrates Christmas Eve, gains 692 points

<DIV>Following the global market trend, the index continued its upward march ahead of the festive season. The Sensex resumed 145 points above its previous close and rallied sharply amid strong bullish sentiment. While the mood remained upbeat, the renewed buying interest in information technology and the rally in oil, metal and banking stocks gathered more steam towards the closing hours. The index surged to touch the day's high of 19,879 and added 716 points for the day. The Sensex finally ended the session with a gain of 3.61% or 692 points at 19,854 whereas the Nifty soared by 3.79% or 219 points at 5985. The breadth of the market was extremely positive, with gainers outnumbering losers in the ratio of 2.01:1. Of the 2,937 stocks traded on the BSE 1,945 stocks advanced, 965 stocks declined and 27 stocks ended unchanged. Among the sectoral indices the BSE IT Index flared up by 6.04%, the BSE TecK Index rose 4.90%, the BSE Oil & Gas Index moved up by 3.53% and the BSE Bankex was up 3.38%. The other indices also ended with sharp gains. Barring Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki and ACC, all the other Sensex stocks ended at higher levels. IT major Wipro flared up 8.86% at Rs535, Infosys bounced back sharply and shot up by 6.63% at Rs1,811, HDFC zoomed 6.33% at Rs2,897, Satyam Computer moved up by 6.28% at Rs455, Reliance Energy scaled up 6.14% at Rs2,059, Bharti Airtel surged by 6.07% at Rs970, TCS jumped by 6.07% at Rs1,109 and BHEL gained 5.08% at Rs2,489. IT stocks saw renewed buying interest after a brief lull earlier this year. HCL Tech spurted by 5.39% at Rs327, Patni Computer shot up by 4.97% at Rs329, Mphasis flared up 4.96% at Rs302 and NIIT Tech jumped by 4.37% at Rs241. Over 3.81 crore IFCI shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Bellary Steel (2.42 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.34 crore shares), IKF Technologies (1.33 crore shares) and Kashyap Technologies (1.08 crore shares). Value-wise IFCI clocked a turnover of Rs300 crore followed by Reliance Energy (Rs242 crore), Mundra Ports (Rs143 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs131 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (Rs131 crore).</DIV>

Market celebrates Christmas Eve, gains 692 points

Following the global market trend, the index continued its upward march ahead of the festive season. The Sensex resumed 145 points above it...

A clean sweep by Technology stocks at US Market

<DIV> Strong earning reports from Oracle and RIMM help market finish higher for the week <SCRIPT language=Javascript>  </SCRIPT> It was with clear help from the technology stocks that the US Market managed to end higher for the week that ended on Friday, 21 December, 2007. The week witnessed volatile trading as persisting concerns about the economy and a troubling outlook for the financial sector continued to bother the US Market. But strong earnings report from Oracle on Thursday, 20 December and Research in Motion (RIMM) on Friday, 21 December guided market for a strong end. Credit market jitters continued in its own way. Investment bank Bear Stearns reported its first ever quarterly loss and announced an additional $700 million in write-downs for mortgage-related securities. Morgan Stanley reported more than expected losses for the fourth quarter. The larger than expected loss was due to $5.7 billion in additional mortgage-related write-downs. But news of $5 billion Chinese investment in the company sent smile to investor's face. On the other hand, FedEx, which is considered as proxy of economy, reported fiscal second quarter results ahead of analysts' lowered expectations. But the company provided disappointing guidance for the current quarter. Among other earnings reports, Goldman Sachs and Bestbuy – both topped expectations. But Goldman Sachs issued a cautious near tem outlook in 2008. Nevertheless, with the help of technology stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 110 points for the week. Tech - heavy Nasdaq gained 56 points. S&P 500 gained 16 points. During the week, the Fed proposed new consumer protections for mortgage borrowers. The proposal would require mortgage broker to disclose to borrower any incentives from the lender. The new mortgage rules will "apply to all mortgage lenders," not just those supervised by the Fed. Also, the European Central Bank surprised market with an unprecedented $500 billion two-week injection to the banking system. Estimates suggested that the operation was about twice the size technically needed. Market suffered losses during the first and middle of the week. All the three indices closed lower on Monday, 17 December, 2007. But on Wednesday, 19 December, Dow and S&P 500 closed lower but Nasdaq registered some gains. Other than that, indices ended in green in all other trading sessions. A tepid outlook for bond insurers weighed on sentiment during the middle of the week. Standard & Poor's cut the credit rating of ACA Financial Guaranty and placed Financial Guaranty Insurance on watch for a downgrade, given their exposure to risky debt securities. Moody's also announced during the week that it was considering downgrading the debt ratings of several bond insurance companies as strain in the credit market continues to take its toll on the financial sector. Also, weighing on the financial market was the news that bond insurer, MBIA has $8.6 billion in collateralized debt obligations. Market rallied on Thursday, 20 December, 2007 and on Friday, 21 December, 2007. On Friday, Dow gained more than 205 points after RIMM announced above expected earnings after Thursday's close. Also, news that Merrill Lynch might sell a stake to Singapore based investment fund help market fuel a good rally. On the economic front during the week, November housing starts dropped 3.7% and housing permits slipped 1.5%. The data show a continued weak housing market. But the data were largely in line with expectations. Also, the regional manufacturing report reported that the New York Empire State Index stood at 10.3 for November. While a number above zero reflects growth, the reading was well below the prior month's reading of 27.7 and the consensus estimate of 20. Third quarter real GDP was unchanged at a 4.9% annual growth rate. Core PCE rose 2% quarter over quarter and the GDP Price Index rose 1%. The report was just the final revision, so it did not have much of an impact on the market. The weekly initial jobless claims for the week ended 15 December rose to 346,000 from 335,000 the week before. Executive Summary For the week, indices registered modest gains. DJIx and S&P 500 closed up by 0.8% and 1.1% respectively. Nasdaq outperformed the market gaining 2.13%. Though market started off on a weak note, strong earning reports from a couple of tech bell weathers took market to new highs and helped the indices register modest gains for the week. Oracle and RIMM were the companies in focus which came out with stronger than expected earning reports. Other than that, Goldman Sachs and Fed Ex also came out with good reports, though both issues cautious guidance for FY 2008. For the holiday shortened week in the coming week, market will mainly focus on the holiday sales figures. For the year, Dow is up by 7.9%, Nasdaq is up by 11.5% and S&P 500 is up by 4.7%. </DIV>

A clean sweep by Technology stocks at US Market

Strong earning reports from Oracle and RIMM help market finish higher for the week It was with clear help from the technology stocks t...

Market Index Outlook

<DIV> The Indian markets suddenly caved in last Monday, catching most participants unawares. The disquieting aspect of last week's trade was the weakness witnessed in the mid- and small-cap stocks. Both the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices lost around 4 per cent as investors opted to take some money off the table prior to the year-end holiday season. With just three days to go for the expiry of the December contracts in the derivative segment, volatility is expected to rule high. The large build-up in the open interest will exert downward pressure on stock prices. Liquidity too is far from robust; FIIs pulled out close to $1 billion in cash segment in the week gone by. The near-term outlook for the Sensex is currently negative. The 14-day relative strength index at 45, and the 10-day rate of change oscillator slipping into negative territory imply that the down-move can continue in the near term. The weekly momentum indicators too corroborate this view. But short-term investors can take heart from the fact that the Sensex is yet to breach the support around 19000. An emphatic move below this level is needed to drag the index lower towards 18500 or 18182 in the near-term. Our medium term outlook for the index stays positive. The Sensex is consolidating in a band between 18000 and 20500 since October 30. This sideways move is likely to be followed by a break-out to 20942 or 22627. This view will hold good even if the index were to fall to 17800. However, a close below this level will imply that a correction of a larger degree could be in progress. The bulls are likely to marshal their resources and strike back early next week. The Sensex could move higher to 19500 or 19882. But a downward reversal is possible from either of these two levels. Failure to move above the first resistance would denote that the index would slide down 19067 or 18503. The support zone around 19000 would be effective this week as well.Nifty (5766.5) Nifty moved lower as indicated in this column last week. Though it breached the short-term support at 5834, the index was able to pull itself higher from the next support at 5700. The zone between 5650 and 5750 will be an important support level in the week ahead. The index can attempt to move higher to 5871 or 5992 early next week. Fresh short positions can be initiated if the index fails to get past the first resistance. The downward targets would then to 5670 and then 5557. Our medium term outlook stays unaltered. The Nifty could move between 5400 and 6200 for a few weeks before the index moves higher to 6262 or 6795.Global Cues The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave everyone a scare towards the middle of last week when it dipped below the long-term 200-day moving average line. But the situation was salvaged to some extent by Friday's rally. A move beyond 13500 by the index next week will ensure that equities enter the New Year with good cheer. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index spear-headed the surge last week with a 5 per cent recovery from the week's lowest point. Asian equities remained steady, though the intermediate term trend continues to be down in most Asian markets.Base metals such as aluminium and copper stayed in a weak mode. Comex gold is consolidating above the 50 day moving average. The outlook for this metal stays positive as long as it holds above $770</DIV>

Market Index Outlook

The Indian markets suddenly caved in last Monday, catching most participants unawares. The disquieting aspect of last week's trade was...

India Real Estate gets more funds

<DIV>Amidst all the worries about a property bubble in the US, the Indian realty sector continues to witness a deluge of funds, not only from private equity investors but also from builders seeking a toehold in this market. Twenty-one private equity deals worth $1,292 million were struck in the realty sector in the six months between April and September 2007. This is a substantial increase over eight deals worth $282 million inked in the same period last year, according to Real Estate Intelligence – a research and consulting firm. From investment banking majors Morgan Stanley and Blackstone to UAE-based Khaleej Finance and Investment and Ras Al-Khaimah Investment Authority, Indian realty companies have been attracting a wide range of institutional investors. Institutional investors expect $5 billion to be pumped into Indian real estate over the next three years, says the recent FICCI-Ernst & Young India Real Estate Report 2007. Direct-stake route The size and number of such deals apart, the route now being taken by institutional investors to get an exposure to projects also reflects their bullish view on Indian realty. Investments which were initially routed through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) are now beginning to come in through the direct portfolio route. Portfolio level participation is a high-risk high-return proposition as investors take concentrated exposures to a few projects. Prominent private equity names such as ICICI Ventures, HDFC, IL&FS Investment Managers, Kotak, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup had initially invested in real estate projects through SPVs which would, in turn, re-direct funds into 5-6 projects. In recent times, some of these investors have taken direct stakes in specific projects. "Investors who were initially evaluating this market were using the SPV route. Now, with increased confidence and a more focused approach to the realty market, the portfolio route may be the way to go," says Mr Anurag Mathur, Deputy Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield India. DLF recently offloaded a 49 per cent stake in seven of its residential projects across India to global financial major Merrill Lynch. According to Cushman & Wakefield, investments at the portfolio level are now the highest and account for 40 per cent of investments in Indian real estate. Global builders In another trend, entity-level partnerships have also emerged, with instances such as Morgan Stanley acquiring a stake in Mantri Developers, a Bangalore-based realty company. But it is not only institutional investors who are flocking to Indian realty, global builders are here too. Alliances announced by UAE-based Nakheel and Emaar, Amsterdam's Plaza Centers NV and Israel's Alony Hetz with Indian players indicate that overseas builders perceive a huge opportunity in this market. "Their entry would help in improving quality and meeting timelines (on projects). Thanks to the deep pockets of the international players, the scale of projects will also increase," predicts Mr Ramesh Nair, Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. As he puts it, "2005 was the year of the real estate investment tourists to India. 2006 was the year when they sought partners who have access to land. 2007 has been the year of searching for partners with good execution skills."</DIV>

India Real Estate gets more funds

Amidst all the worries about a property bubble in the US, the Indian realty sector continues to witness a deluge of funds, not only from pr...

Precious metals glitter as dollar weakens

<DIV>Boosted by dollar weakness and rising crude, gold gains more than 2% for the week</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Precious metals ended higher today, Friday, 21 December, 2007 after the dollar slipped against almost all its rival currencies barring yen. The greenback fell despite a strong economic report suggesting higher consumer spending in the US. Though this suggested that Fed might not be heading for another interest rate cut, it pushed up crude prices considerably higher today. Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S. currency. Gold, as a dollar-denominated commodity, suffers from dollar strength.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Comex Gold for February delivery rose $12.2 (1.5%) to close at $815.4 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange today. For the week, gold gained $17.4/ounce (2.2%). Last week, prices rose by almost 0.3% ($2.2/ounce). On, 7 November, prices had touched $848/ounce. It was the highest price after a record $873 on 21 January, 1980.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Comex Silver futures for March delivery rose 14.8 cents (1%) to $14.488 an ounce. Silver prices have been rallying since the past three days as copper prices rallied. Prices touched 26 year high on 7 November, after reaching $16.275. The metal has climbed 12% this year.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Gold has traditionally been used as a safe-haven asset against rising inflation. Investor sentiments are boosted by the fact that gold and silver are alternate sources of good investment in the face of declining dollar and rising energy prices. Rising crude increases inflationary pressures and vice versa. On the other hand strong dollar reduces the appeal of the metal as alternate source of investment.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In the currency market today, The dollar gained on the yen but gave up a bit of ground to other major rivals in thin pre-holiday market conditions.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In the energy market, oil prices ended marginally lower today after going through some volatile session. Price closed lower by 20 cents at $91.04/barrel. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, edged down 0.1% at 77.70.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Gold had climbed 27% this year till date as lower interest rates had sent the dollar tumbling, and crude-oil prices rose to a record. Dollar is still 9% down against the euro this year.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In 2006, silver had jumped 46% while gold gained 23%. </DIV>

Precious metals glitter as dollar weakens

Boosted by dollar weakness and rising crude, gold gains more than 2% for the week Precious metals ended higher today, Friday, 21 Decem...

Crude ends marginally lower amid volatile trade

<DIV>Prices rise beyond $92 and also fall back to $90 during intraday trade</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Crude oil prices went through some volatile trading range today. Prices dropped to almost $90/barrel at one end but also crossed $92/barrel at the other end. But going into close, prices closed marginally higher. Prices fell after Energy Department reported less than expected drop in natural gas inventory for the week ended 14 December.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For the day ending Thursday, 20 December, 2007, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed at $91.04/barrel (lower by $0.20/barrel or 0.2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures rose as high as $92.25 earlier in the day and fell as low as $90.57 in trading today. Prices are 43% higher than the year before.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Yesterday, the Energy Department, reported that U.S. crude inventories fell by 7.6 million barrels to 296.9 million barrels in the week ending 14 December, the lowest since February 2005. That was the fifth straight week of drop. U.S. refineries operated at 87.8% of their operable capacity last week, down 1% from the previous week's 88.8%.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As per EIA, at 296.9 million barrels, U.S. crude inventories were in the lower half of the average range for this time of year and at lowest level since February, 2005. U.S. crude-oil imports averaged 9.1 million barrels per day last week, down 952,000 barrels per day from the previous week.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Brent crude oil for February settlement fell $0.60 (0.7%) to $90.88 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Natural gas gives up earlier gains as inventory drops less than expected</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Natural gas prices erased earlier gains and closed lower for the day. The EIA reported today that U.S. natural gas inventories dropped 121 billion cubic feet to 3,173 billion cubic feet in the week ending 14 December, less than expected figure of 129 billion cubic feet. Natural-gas futures for January delivery fell 4.2 cents to $7.137 per million British thermal units.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Against this backdrop, January reformulated gasoline gained 0.43 cents to $2.3320 a gallon and January heating oil fell 0.84 cent to $2.5895 a gallon.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As per EIA, global oil markets will likely remain tight through 2008 and monthly average oil prices are expected to near $85 per barrel over the next year. The IEA, an adviser to 27 nations, said global demand in 2008 will rise 2.5% to 87.8 million barrels a day.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>At the MCX, crude oil for January delivery closed at Rs 3,619/barrel, higher by Rs 22 (0.61%) against previous day's close. Natural gas for December delivery closed at Rs 284.1/mmtbu, higher by 4.6/mmtbu (1.6%).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Members of the OPEC left production targets unchanged at the 5 December meeting in Abu Dhabi. The group, which produces 40% of the world's oil, will review output at a 1 February, 2008 meeting in Vienna. </DIV>

Crude ends marginally lower amid volatile trade

Prices rise beyond $92 and also fall back to $90 during intraday trade Crude oil prices went through some volatile trading range today...

Gold slips for another day

<DIV> Precious metals end mixed again as silver gains as copper rallies <SCRIPT language=Javascript>  </SCRIPT> Precious metals ended mixed once again after gold prices fell and silver gained today, Thursday, 20 December, 2007. The dollar strengthened today against most of its rival currencies barring yen. Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S. currency. Gold, as a dollar-denominated commodity, suffers from dollar strength. Comex Gold for February delivery fell $2.2 (0.3%) to close at $803.2 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange today. Earlier the price fell to almost $802.2/ounce. Last week, prices rose by almost 0.3% ($2.2/ounce). On, 7 November, prices had touched $848/ounce. It was the highest price after a record $873 on 21 January, 1980. Comex Silver futures for March delivery rose 11.8 cents (0.8%) to $14.34 an ounce. Silver prices climbed up as copper rallied by more than 2% and 2.5% today and yesterday respectively. Prices touched 26 year high on 7 November, after reaching $16.275. The metal has climbed 11% this year. Gold has traditionally been used as a safe-haven asset against rising inflation. Investor sentiments are boosted by the fact that gold and silver are alternate sources of good investment in the face of declining dollar and rising energy prices. Rising crude increases inflationary pressures and vice versa. On the other hand strong dollar reduces the appeal of the metal as alternate source of investment. In the currency market today, the dollar drifted lower against the yen but continued to gain on most of its major rivals. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.2% to 77.715. In the energy market, oil prices ended marginally lower today after going through some volatile session. Price closed lower by 20 cents at $91.04/barrel. Gold had climbed 25% this year till date as lower interest rates had sent the dollar tumbling, and crude-oil prices rose to a record. Dollar is still 8% down against the euro this year. In 2006, silver had jumped 46% while gold gained 23%. Last week on 11 December, Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate by a quarter-point to 4.25%. The Fed also lowered its discount rate, the interest it charges on direct loans it makes to banks, by a quarter-point to 4.75%. Dollar had been witnessing a free fall since Federal Reserve cut interest rates in September. Before 11 December, Federal Reserve had cut the fed funds rate by a quarter-point to 4.50% on 31 October, 2007. Prior to that, Federal Reserve had cut interest rates by half percentage point on 19 September, 2007. At the MCX, gold prices for February delivery closed lower by Rs 25 (0.24%) at Rs 10,232 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 10,268 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 10,175 per 10 grams during the day's trading. At the MCX, silver prices for March delivery closed Rs 154 (0.82%) higher at Rs 18,913/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 18,773/kg and went to a high of Rs 19,005/Kg during the day's trading. </DIV>

Gold slips for another day

Precious metals end mixed again as silver gains as copper rallies Precious metals ended mixed once again after gold prices fell and si...

Technology sector pushes US Market higher

<DIV> Strong earnings report from Oracle offset impact of news of loss from Bear Sterns <SCRIPT language=Javascript>  </SCRIPT> It was a clear day for technology stocks at US Market today, Thursday, 20 December, 2007. Above-expected result from Oracle after yesterday's close helped Nasdaq witness its best day in the past fortnight. The other two indices – Dow and S&P 500 too ended the day with modest gains, but Nasdaq rallied with substantial gains. First ever quarterly loss from Bear Sterns in its eighty-four year history once again brought back the credit market jitters in the financial market. All ten sectors ended the day higher, except for the financials. Market expecting good earnings report from another tech biggie, Research in Motion (RIMM) after today's close, helped offset the nervousness in the financial market. The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a gain of 38.87 points at 13,245.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 39.87 points at 2,640.86. S&P 500 finished higher by 7.12 points at 1,460.12. While IBM and Microsoft provided good support to Dow today, Citigroup, AIG, JP Morgan continued to be Dow laggards. Oracle shares jumped 6.4% today after the software maker posted a 35% rise in fiscal second-quarter profit, topping Wall Street's expectations. This gave overall tech sector a good boost today. On the other hand, Bear Sterns reported a huge loss, which was a much larger loss than what analysts expected. Nevertheless, market ignored the report and the stock ended higher for the day. Also, weighing on the financial market was the news that bond insurer, MBIA has $8.6 billion in collateralized debt obligations. The stock slumped almost 25%. Earlier this week, Standard & Poor's and Moody's affirmed their highest credit rating on MBI, but cut their outlook to negative. Market ignores economic data Among economic news that hit the wires today, third quarter real GDP was unchanged at a 4.9% annual growth rate. Core PCE rose 2% quarter over quarter and the GDP Price Index rose 1%. The report was just the final revision, so it did not have much of an impact on the market. Also, the weekly initial jobless claims for the week ended 15 December rose to 346,000 from 335,000 the week before. The other technology stocks that supported the market today were Apple, Microsoft and RIMM. After close, RIMM came out with earnings report that beat expectations. Indian ADRs ended mixed today. Tata Motors and Infosys Technologies were the two topmost gainers, gaining more than 5% each. VSNL, yesterday which shot up by more than 20%, was today's top loser shedding more than 5%. Crude witnesses volatile trading Crude oil prices went through some volatile trading range today. Prices dropped to almost $90/barrel at one end but also crossed $92/barrel at the other end. But going into close, prices closed marginally higher. Prices fell after Energy Department reported less than expected drop in natural gas inventory for the week ended 14 December. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed at $91.04/barrel (lower by $0.20/barrel or 0.2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading volumes showed 1.3 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.9 billion trading on the Nasdaq. Gaining issues topped decliners by 17 to 14 on the NYSE and by 18 to 11 on Nasdaq. Tomorrow, investors will focus on economic reports to set the tone of trading. Personal Income and Outlays for November are due tomorrow tomorrow morning which includes Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), Fed's favorite inflationary gauge. The Revised Consumer Sentiment Survey, published by the University of Michigan, is also due tomorrow. </DIV>

Technology sector pushes US Market higher

Strong earnings report from Oracle offset impact of news of loss from Bear Sterns It was a clear day for technology stocks at US Marke...

Tata to unveil People's Car on Jan 10 2008

Tata Motors will display a range of new passenger vehicles, while Fiat will display passenger cars from its international range. From its c...

Ford may pick Tata Motors for JLR: reports

<DIV>Ford Motor is likely to name Tata Motors as the preferred bidder for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands (JLR) on Dec. 21, according to international media reports. Tata Motors is expected to quote about £1bn (US$2bn) for the marquee luxury brands, the reports said. However, Ford may keep some interest in JLR under pressure from the British unions. Ford, which is spinning off the British luxury brands to focus on restructuring its loss-making North American operations, said last week it aimed to complete the sale in early 2008. Tata Motors is competing with Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and private equity firm One Equity Partners. UK trade unions have already expressed their desire to back the Tatas. Officials from the British factories making the iconic brands believe that the family-owned Indian auto manufacturer would offer more long-term security than private equity firm One Equity. JLR together employ 15,000 people in the UK. The headcount of the two brands increases to 40,000 if employment throughout the supply and support chains is taken into account. However, union leaders have voiced some concern about Tata Motors' market positioning as a manufacturer of mass market brands. They fear that JLR brands will not fit well with Tata Motors' image. Unions also feel that Tata Motors may source components or manufacturing from India, leading to loss of British jobs.</DIV>

Ford may pick Tata Motors for JLR: reports

Ford Motor is likely to name Tata Motors as the preferred bidder for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands (JLR) on Dec. 21, according to intern...

Software companies struggle with user compliance: KPMG

<DIV>Illegal and unlicensed software installations continue to be a significant problem and source of revenue loss for software companies worldwide, according to a recent survey of software company executives conducted by KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm. In fact, 55 % of the executives estimated their firm's revenue loss at greater than 10 % of total revenue. Overall, in the KPMG study, 87 % of the executives claimed revenue loss due to unlicensed users. What's more, 77 % of those surveyed agree with IDC (International Data Corp.) estimates that 35 % of software installed is unlicensed, leading to an estimated $34bn in lost revenue to the industry. The KPMG study found that 64 % of software publishing executives indicated that their companies have a program designed to ensure customer compliance with software license agreements. And 36 % said that they do not have compliance programs. "Executives of software companies are struggling to find answers to combat unlicensed software use," said Arpinder Singh, Executive Director KPMG in India. "Some firms are either not executing their compliance programs or need them analyzed or overhauled. Effective compliance programs do help firms recoup revenue and maintain strong customer relationships." In fact, 20 % of the KPMG survey takers say that their compliance programs deliver over five % of their ongoing software revenue streams, and 30 % say they derive between five and 10 % of annual revenue. Seven % of respondents indicate that these programs actually contribute 10 % or more to the top line. When asked if compliance activities resulted in negative outcomes with customers, 94 % of survey takers indicated that customer loss is very rare or never occurs. And, 50 % of those surveyed said customer satisfaction is a key measure used to gauge compliance-program success. "In India also the picture is quite grim as almost 50 % software is pirated. One of the major problems in India is the weak law enforcement and awareness. Though a number of companies have started software compliance programme but we still need to go a long way. Several leading practices were revealed through our survey that can be applied by software publishers to help recover lost revenues, strengthen software license controls, and improve business relationships with major institutional customers." concludes Arpinder Singh. According to KPMG's survey, software companies could be doing a better job of helping their customers understand what they have purchased, and what types of usage their license agreements allow. Only 36 % make such information easily accessible by their customers, while 43 % say they share such information on a case-by-case basis. In addition, the information that is made available may not be as comprehensive as necessary. While 45 % say their entitlement information is comprehensive, 55 % say the data may provide only an average or limited level of understanding. KPMG surveyed 50 executives from software publishing companies collectively represented almost 50 % of total industry revenue. Twenty-eight % of those who responded are with companies earning US$5bn or more in software revenues. In addition, 62 % are with companies earning more than $250 million. Additionally, KPMG interviewed executives at six prominent software companies to validate the survey findings, and identify software license compliance practices worthy of note. The survey was conducted in cooperation with the International Business Software Manager's Association (IBSMA), a trade group that represents enterprise-level software customers. The objectives were to detect the substantive issues underlying this enormous industry problem by surveying a valid cross-section of software publishers. The approach also focused on identifying better practices in license compliance, so the industry could learn from successful techniques being applied in the industry today.</DIV>

Software companies struggle with user compliance: KPMG

Illegal and unlicensed software installations continue to be a significant problem and source of revenue loss for software companies worldw...

FII short selling to be permitted soon

<DIV>The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Thursday decided to permit short selling by institutional investors. Hitherto, only retail investors were allowed to short sell. The markets regulator said it will put in place a securities lending and borrowing scheme to provide a mechanism for borrowing of securities to enable settlement of securities sold short. Stock exchanges and depositories have been advised to put necessary systems in place in this regard. The date of implementation will be communicated subsequently. Short selling means selling a stock which the seller does not own at the time of trade. Broad framework for short selling: 1. "Short selling" shall be defined as selling a stock which the seller does not own at the time of trade. 2. All classes of investors--retail and institutional--shall be permitted to short sell. 3. Naked short selling shall not be permitted and all investors would be required to honour their obligation of delivering the securities at the time of settlement. 4. No institutional investor shall be allowed to day trade--square-off transactions intra-day. In other words, all transactions would be grossed for institutional investors at the custodian level and the institutions would be required to fulfill their obligations on a gross basis. The custodians, however, would continue to settle their deliveries on a net basis with the stock exchanges. 5. The stock exchanges shall frame necessary uniform deterrent provisions and take appropriate action against the brokers for failure to deliver securities at the time of settlement which shall act as a sufficient deterrent against failure to deliver. 6. A scheme for Securities Lending and Borrowing shall be put in place to provide the necessary impetus to short sell, and its introduction shall be simultaneous with that of short selling by institutional investors. 7. Securities traded in F&O segment shall be eligible for short selling. SEBI may review the list of stocks eligible for short selling transactions from time to time. 8. Institutional investors shall disclose upfront at the time of placement of order whether the transaction is a short sale. However, retail investors would be permitted to make a similar disclosure by the end of the trading hours on the transaction day. 9. The brokers shall be mandated to collect the details on scrip-wise short sell positions, collate the data and upload it to the stock exchanges before the commencement of trading on the following trading day. The stock exchanges shall then consolidate such information and disseminate the same on their websites for the information of the public on a weekly basis. Via ET</DIV>

FII short selling to be permitted soon

The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Thursday decided to permit short selling by institutional investors. Hitherto, only retail in...