Indian Stock News by Experts

Small-cap, mid-cap indices shine

<DIV>The market edged lower led by fall in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. Select IT stocks weakened. Tata Steel soared. Metal, consumer goods and auto stocks were in demand. The market breadth was strong. 19 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were in red. Key Asian markets, except Singapore, were in green. European markets drifted lower as nervousness over the US economy and the credit crisis kept investors on the sidelines. Investors were also cautious ahead of the discussion on the Indo-US nuclear deal, which will take place in the Rajya Sabha today (4 December 2007) where the Left is expected to sharpen its attack on the issue. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 73.91 points or 0.38% to 19,529.50. The Sensex hit a high of 19,707.86 in early trade. At day's high, the Sensex gained 104.45 points. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty shed 6.65 points or 0.11% to 5858.35. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.60% to 8,904.54. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.58% to 10,956.51. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. Market breadth was strong. On BSE, 1934 stocks advanced, 878 stocks declined and 52 stocks remained unchanged. BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 9111 crore compared to yesterday (3 December 2007)'s turnover of Rs 9,319.88 crore. Nifty December 2007 futures were at 5889, a premium of 30.65 points as compared to spot closing of 5858.35. NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 56330.05 crore, which was higher than Rs 54816.50 crore on Monday, 3 December 2007 India's largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 2.33% to Rs 2863.85. The stock came off session's high of Rs 2960. The BSE Bankex fell 0.63% to 10,797.09. It underperformed the Sensex. India's largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank fell 2.13% to Rs 1140.40. Federal Bank declined 1.46% to Rs 330.20, Bank of India fell 1.30% to Rs 350.25, Karnataka Bank fell 0.63% to Rs 211.70, and State Bank of India declined 0.32% to Rs 2317.40. Among gainers from the backing sector, Yes Bank spurted 7.37% to Rs 249.90, Punjab National Bank jumped 2.57% to Rs 643.55, Andhra Bank gained 1.90% to Rs 104.45 and Indian Overseas Bank rose 1.66% to Rs 175. The BSE Metal index gained 3.22% to 18,869.28. It outperformed the Sensex. The world's sixth-largest steel maker Tata Steel soared 4.08% to Rs 872.95 after the chief of its Corus unit said the firm was planning to lift prices next year. Vedanta group firm Sterlite Industries fell 1.45% to Rs 1066.65 on reports that Sterlite Energy (SEL), a subsidiary of the company, is in talks with private equity firms and financial investors to sell around 15% in the largest pre-IPO placement in the country. Citigroup Global Markets and DSP Merrill Lynch are advising Sterlite Energy on the transaction, which is expected to raise more than $1 billion from a clutch of investors. Maharastra Seamless surged 12.37% to Rs 574.10, Steel Authority of India (Sail) gained 8.53% to Rs 284.90, Jindal Stainless gained 5.44% to Rs 238.30, and Hindalco Industries gained 1.15% to Rs 193.75. The BSE Consumer Durables index jumped 6.12% to 6,083.04. It outperformed the Sensex. Videocon Industries surged 20% to Rs 590, Asian Star Company jumped 4.71% to Rs 1380, Rajesh Exports moved up 1.75% to Rs 921.05 and Titan Industries gained 1.16% to Rs 1568.90. The BSE Auto index rose 1.67% to 5,639.08. It outperformed the Sensex. MICO surged 16.92% to Rs 5438.55, Ashok Leyland spurted 7.86% to Rs 50.75, and Hindustan Motors gained 4.26% to Rs 42.85. India's top tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra rose 2.79% to Rs 771.85. The stock rose for the second day in a row after it reported on Monday, 3 December 2007, a 37% rise in vehicle sales in November 2007 over November 2006. However, Maruti Suzuki fell 0.39% to Rs 1028.15 and Bajaj Auto declined 0.26% to Rs 2768.70. Cement shares pared gains after the government today warned that it will crack down on the cement industry if it detects any cartelisation in the sector. ACC, India's largest cement maker in terms of capacity, fell 0.35% to Rs 1087.85, off day's high of Rs 1117. The company said on Monday, 3 December 2007, its November 2007 cement shipments rose 3% to 1.58 million tonnes from 1.53 million tonnes a year earlier. North India's largest cement maker Ambuja Cements rose 1.22% to Rs 153.90, off day's high of Rs 160.90. The company said on Monday its November 2007 cement shipments rose 3.8% to 1.36 million tonnes from 1.31 million a year earlier. JK Cements fell 1.19% to Rs 245.70, and Grasim Industries fell 0.68% to Rs 3813.50. Ultratech Cements declined 0.48% to Rs 994. The BSE IT index fell 0.15% to 4,240.13. It outperformed the Sensex. TCS fell 2.22% to Rs 1054, Satyam Computers fell 1.58% to Rs 440.90, and I-Flex Solutions fell 1.78% to Rs 1508.85. India's third largest software exporter by sales Wipro gained 0.68% to Rs 496.75. India's second largest software exporter Infosys Technologies rose 0.86% to Rs 1614.50. State run term lending institution Power Finance Corporation fell 0.40% to Rs 249.75 after its board approved to fix current exposure limit for lending purposes for government sector companies at 100% of its networth. Media and entertainment firm Zee Entertainment rose 0.05% to Rs 306.95, off day's high of Rs 312.45. Zee group reportedly sold the international broadcast rights for its Indian Cricket League (ICL) matches to three global distributors for an estimated $10 million. The three distributors are Astro PPV -– a leading direct-to-home distributor for the South-East Asia region, the Sri Lanka-based Derana and Gateway, which reaches countries in Europe and the US, among others, the report added. Media firm UTV Software Communications fell 2.77% to Rs 796.55 after the company decided to call off its association with Malaysian media company Astro Multimedia International. UTV Software and Astro had entered into a co-operation arrangement earlier this year via a company - GenX Entertainment - to to set up kids channels in Malaysia and Indonesia. Textiles firm Pearl Global was locked at upper limits of 20% to Rs 100.55 after the firm struck a deal to jointly develop its Gurgaon property with a unit of DLF. The firm cancelled a similar earlier pact with Ansal Properties & Infrastructure. Construction firm Hindustan Construction Company rose 3.36% to Rs 209.30 after its chairman and managing director said the firm is in talk with foreign players for airport development and float an infrastructure firm to invest in public private partnership. Software firm Logix Microsystems fell 0.69% to Rs 310.25, off day's high of Rs 340 after it acquired a majority stake in Add-on-Auto LLC of the US for an undisclosed amount. Media firm Dish TV India rose 0.81% to Rs 92.80, off day's high of Rs 97.25 after the direct-to-home satellite operator said its board will meet on Wednesday (5 December 2007) to consider equity capital infusion. Engineering firm Dynamatic Technologies rose 0.56% to Rs 1710, off day's high of Rs 1,850 after the company said it had signed a deal with Spirit Aerosystems (Europe) to set up metallic precision assembly for Airbus aircraft, in Bangalore. Jindal Steel & Power clocked the highest turnover of Rs 471.08 crore on BSE. Essar Oil (Rs 453.79 crore), Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone (Rs 331.86 crore), ONGC (Rs 242.72 crore) and IFCI (Rs 200.10 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order. Ispat Industries registered highest volumes of 2.48 crore shares on BSE. Ashok Leyland (1.99 crore shares), IFCI (1.88 crore shares), Chanbal Fertiliser & Petrochemicals (1.70 crore shares) and Tata Teleservices (1.69 crore shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order. European markets were weak in early trade. Key indices in France, Germany and UK were down by between 0.23% to 1.15%. Most of the Asian markets were in green. Key indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by between 0.18% to 0.97%. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.95%. US markets ended lower on profit booking on Monday, 3 December 2007. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 57.15 points to 13,314.57. Broader stock indicators also settled lower. The S&P 500 index declined 8.72 points or 0.59% to 1,472.42, and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 23.83 points or 0.90% to 2,637.13. Oil rose on Tuesday, 4 December 2007 following signs that Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will probably resist consumer nations' calls to pump more oil. US crude rose 34 cents a barrel to $89.65. London Brent crude was up 24 cents at $90.04.</DIV>

Small-cap, mid-cap indices shine

The market edged lower led by fall in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. Select IT stocks weakened. Tata Steel soared. ...

Sensex rallies, despite mixed global cues

<DIV>Despite getting mixed signals from Asian markets, the Sensex resumed on a positive note at 19,547, up 184 points. The undertone remained bullish for the entire trading session, with the Sensex crossing 19,550 mark in early trades and maintaining its upward bias thereafter. While market remained upbeat on strong buying in consumer durables, metal, oil and power stocks, the rally gathered momentum in the afternoon and the Sensex touched the day's high of 19,619. The Sensex finally ended the session with a gain of 240 points or 1.24% at 19,603. The Nifty rose 102 points or 1.77% to close at 5,865. Among the sectoral indices, the CD index led the upsurge with a gain of 6.83% at 5,732 followed by the BSE Oil & Gas index (up 3.45% at 12,786), the BSE Power index (up 3.22% at 4,484) and the BSE Metal index (up 3.11% at 18,281). The market breadth was extremely positive with gainers outpacing the losers in the ratio of 2.85:1. Of the 2,854 stocks traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 2,087 stocks advanced, 709 stocks declined and 58 stocks ended unchanged. Out of the 30 Sensex stocks, 24 managed to end with gains while six stocks ended with losses. Reliance Energy was the leading gainer and soared 9.32% at Rs1,900. Wipro jumped 7.19% at Rs493, Reliance Communication shot up by 5.48% at Rs712, TCS advanced 3.85% at Rs1,053, Hindalco moved up by 3.37% at Rs192, BHEL added 3.02% at Rs2,761 and Reliance Industries gained 2.86% at Rs2,932. Among the laggards ICICI Bank dropped 1.64% at Rs1,165, Bharti Airtel shed 1.61% at Rs924, HDFC declined by 1.37% at Rs2,746, HDFC Bank fell 1.04% at Rs1,701, while HLL and Infosys slipped marginally at Rs206 and Rs1,600 respectively. Over 5.88 crore IDFC shares changed hands on the BSE followed by IFCI (4.38 crore shares), Tata Teleservices (2.42 crore shares), Ispat Industries (2.41 crore shares) and Essar Oil (2.33 crore shares). IDFC registered a turnover of Rs1,215 crore on the BSE followed by Essar Oil (Rs660 crore), IFCI (Rs459 crore), Reliance Petroleum (Rs371 crore) and Reliance Energy (Rs315 crore).</DIV>

Sensex rallies, despite mixed global cues

Despite getting mixed signals from Asian markets, the Sensex resumed on a positive note at 19,547, up 184 points. The undertone remained bu...

RIL, REL lead 240-points Sensex surge

<DIV>Strong buying interest in some index pivotals including Reliance Industries boosted the bourses today. IT pivotals, Wipro, TCS and Satyam Computer edged higher. Reliance Energy spurted. The market breadth was strong. 24 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were in green. Last week's sharp fall in global crude oil prices supported the rally on the bourses. European markets, which opened after Indian markets, turned negative after a positive start. Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, were mixed. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 240.22 points or 1.24% to 19,603.41. The Sensex hit a high of 19,619.32 in mid-afternoon trade trade. At day's high, the Sensex gained 256.13 points. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty advanced 102.25 points or 1.77% to 5865. The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 2.46% to 8,764.26. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 2.47% to 10,786.20. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. Market breadth was strong on BSE on the back of strong demand for small-cap and mid-cap shares. 2087 stocks advanced, 709 stocks declined and 58 stocks remained unchanged on BSE. BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 9264 crore compared to Friday (30 November 2007)'s Rs 8,457.32 crore. Nifty December 2007 futures were at 5876, a premium of 11 points as compared to spot closing of 5865. NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 54816.5 crore, which was lower than Rs 60313.99 crore on Friday, 30 November 2007 India's largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 2.86% to Rs 2932.20, off day's low of Rs 2850. India's largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank fell 1.64% to Rs 1165.25. India's largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank declined 1.04% to Rs 1701.20. The BSE Consumer Durables index soared 6.83% to 5,732.15. It outperformed the Sensex. Gitanjali Gems sprout 7.02% to Rs 464.70, Rajesh Exports jumped 4.80% to Rs 905.20, and Lloyd Electric & Engineering gained 2.51% to Rs 179.70. Diversified firm Videocon Industries spurted 20% to Rs 491.70 on reports the company has negotiated directly with land owners in Asansol for 2,000 acres for its proposed steel and power plant. The new company--Videocon Steel and Power--will build the 3 million-tonne steel and 1,200 megawatt thermal power plant on 4,000 acres. The project will start with 2,000 acres. The BSE Power index rose 3.22% to 4,484.10. It outperformed the Sensex. GVK Power & Infrastructure gained 5.51% to Rs 803, Neyveli Lignite Corporation rose 2.72% to Rs 241.95, and NTPC gained 1.35% to Rs 239.85. Power producer and distributor Tata Power soared 7.72% to Rs 1262.85. The company is reportedly eyeing a bid for Singapore electricity companies Tuas Power, PowerSeraya and Senoko. The report suggests that Singapore's state investor Temasek Holdings is selling its interests in the three firms and Tata Power was evaluating the opportunity. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) led Reliance Energy (REL) jumped 9.32% to 1900.15. As per reports, ADAG will invest Rs 8,000 crore in REL that would help the company to double its net worth and increase its borrowing limit. The infusion is proposed through a preferential offer of shares to Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The preferential offer will be made at Rs 1,812 per share. After the equity infusion, the promoter's stake will increase to 43-45% from the current 35.89%. The BSE Oil & Gas index rose 3.45% to 12,786.19. It outperformed the Sensex. Essar Oil spurted 20% to Rs 391.35, BPCL gained 4.34% to Rs 402.95, Reliance Petroleum gained 2.32% to Rs 222.80 and Reliance Natural Resources rose 2.97% to Rs 173.20. State-run oil refiner Indian Oil Corporation moved up 2.05% to Rs 552.50. The company has received approval of its board for acquiring a 5% stake in Oil India by acquiring 1.07 crore equity shares at a price equivalent to its initial public offer price (IPO). The IPO of OIL is slated for the first quarter of 2008. India's biggest car-maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India rose 1.96% to Rs 1032.20. The company's domestic sales rose 24% to 65,216 units in November 2007 over November 2006. This is its highest ever monthly domestic sales. India's top tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra rose 2.61% to Rs 750.90. The company's vehicle sales rose 37% to 18,585 units in November from 13,597 units a year earlier. Exports rose to 739 units in November 2007 from 443 units a year earlier. The BSE IT index rose 1.34% to 4,254.05. It outperformed the Sensex. Wipro jumped 7.19% to Rs 493.40, TCS rose 3.85% to Rs 1052.95, and Satyam Computers gained 1.83% to Rs 448. India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies fell 0.21% to Rs 1600.70. India's largest steel producer in terms of sales Steel Authority of India (Sail) rose 1.57% to Rs 262.50. The firm reportedly plans to invest Rs 53,000 crore to increase hot metal capacity to 26 million tonnes. The investment is expected to be funded through a mix of debt and equity in the ratio 1:1. Infrastructure development firm GMR Infrastructure rose 1.87% to Rs 259.25. The GMR Group reportedly plans to invest over Rs 60,000 crore in next five-six years to enhance its power generation capacity in the country and acquire coal assets abroad. GMR Energy, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, has three operational power plants of 388.5 megawatt (MW), 220 MW, 200 MW capacity in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu respectively. Term lending institution IFCI jumped 12.90% to Rs 106.80. The firm has reportedly decided to rope in International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of World Bank, as an investor to hold less than 20% stake. Heavy equipment maker BEML gained 1.40% to Rs 1695.80. The company has reportedly floated a subsidiary in Brazil for sourcing and assembling of mining and construction equipment to cater to the growing Latin American markets. The quantum of investment for the project is still being worked out, the reports added. Ceramic tiles maker Euro Ceramics rose 7.02% to Rs 220.95. The company is likely to invest Rs 575 crore to increase vitrified tiles production capacity by 1,00,000 tonnes per annum. Cooling products maker Fedders Lloyd Corporation spurted 13.44% to Rs 143.50 after the company said it has tied up with Victor Company of Japan to bring the latter's consumer electronics products to India. IDFC clocked the highest turnover of Rs 1215.73 crore on BSE. Essar Oil (Rs 660.55 crore), IFCI (Rs 459.56 crore), Reliance Petroleum (Rs 371.93 crore) and Reliance Energy (Rs 315.78 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order. IDFC registered highest volume of 5.88 crore shares on BSE. IFCI (4.39 crore shares), Tata Teleservices (2.42 crore shares), Ispat Industries (2.42 crore shares) and Essar Oil (2.33 crore shares), were the other volumes topper on BSE in that order. European markets declined after a positive start. In Europe, key indices in UK, France and Germany were down between 0.01% to 0.24%. Asian markets were trading mixed today, 3 December 2007. Key indices in Singapore and Hong Kong were up between 0.01% to 0.05%. Key indices in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were down between 0.03% to 0.33%. Oil prices fell below $89 on Friday on expectations that OPEC will decide to increase output at its meeting in this week. Crude oil hovered above $89 a barrel on Monday, 3 December 2007, after close to $10 fall last week. US crude for January delivery rose nearly $1 to above $89.50 a barrel, but was still well off a record high near $100 set on 21 November 2007. US markets ended mixed on Friday, 30 November 2007 on the expectation that Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in its meeting scheduled on 11 December 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.99 points 0.45% to 13,371.72 and The S&P advanced rose nearly 1% to 1,481. However the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3% to 2,661. FIIs sold equities worth Rs 5,849.90 during the month of November 2007. On cumulative basis, FIIs were net buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 65,907.30 crore in calendar 2007 so far.</DIV>

RIL, REL lead 240-points Sensex surge

Strong buying interest in some index pivotals including Reliance Industries boosted the bourses today. IT pivotals, Wipro, TCS and Satyam C...

$200 million pulled out of India

<DIV>Soaring oil prices have made global investors to pull out over 200 million dollar from India-focused funds during the last week of November, a latest report says. "Funds geared to China and India, both big oil importers, posted outflows of 688 million dollar and 208 million dollar respectively as oil prices continue to test the 100-dollar a barrel mark," international fund tracking firm EPFR Global said in its latest weekly report. Besides, funds focused on BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) witnessed an outflow of 81 million dollar in the week ended November 30. But two countries --Russia and Brazil -- which have exportable oil reserves did not fare so badly. Russia country funds posted modest inflows while it was neutral for Brazil, the report said. At the country level, investors last week again pulled back from China and reduced their exposure to emerging markets such as Korea and India that have big oil import bills. However, money market funds continued to find favour as investors parked another 7.62 billion dollar in them. This fund group has absorbed fresh money for the eighth time in the past nine weeks, the report said. Since early August net inflows have totalled over 115 billion dollar. "Despite the angst over the real scope of the global credit crisis, recent flow data suggests that investors are still as focused on returns as they are on risk," EPFR Global analyst Cameron Brandt said.</DIV>

$200 million pulled out of India

Soaring oil prices have made global investors to pull out over 200 million dollar from India-focused funds during the last week of November...

Market may rally

<DIV> Sensex (19,363.19): The month of November was tumultuous for stock markets across the world. The Indian markets displayed amazing resilience amid global weakness and the sharp rally on Friday has reinforced the bullish view expressed in recent weeks. The bullish view and the possibility of a rally to 21,500-22,000 would be intact if the index holds above 18,180. Else, we could see a test of 16,200-16,300 levels. The long- term positive view would, however, not be affected even if the Sensex were to drop to 16,200-16,300 zone. Such an event would only delay the eventual progress towards the target zone of 21,500-22,000 and would not negate the positive view. Going by the chart patterns, there is a fair chance of the rally gathering steam and the Sensex could hit this target zone soon. The price action in the next few weeks would hold the key and would provide clues about what is in store. Till such time 18180 is not breached, a quick and sharp move to the target zone would be the favoured view. Nifty (5765.5): After a sharp rally on Monday, the index was confined to a narrow trading zone during the best part of the week. The sharp spurt on Friday is indicative of the start of the next leg of the rally. A quick and decisive overhaul of the earlier high of 6012 would confirm the resumption of the bullish trend. The market action during the week has not negated the bullish view featured in the recent weeks. The index is on course to move to the target zone of 6400-6500. A close above 5775 would be an early sign of strength and a close past 6012 would provide further momentum to the rally. It would be safer to avoid chasing momentum stocks and investors may look to buy fundamentally sound stocks that have corrected recently. CNX IT Index (4431): This index has taken a drubbing in the recent months. The fall was arrested at the recent low of 4141 which is just a shade below the crucial 61.8 Fibonacci retracement of the rally from 3193 to 5857. The bounce from this crucial support zone and the price pattern in the recent weeks indicate that a bottom of some consequence has been established at 4141. The occurrence of a classic positive divergence between the price action and the 14-day RSI is another factor favouring an uptrend. The immediate resistance is at 4750-4800 range and the major target cum resistance zone is at 5100-5200. Short-term support is at 4300-4350. Stop loss for long positions may be placed at 4240. Keep an eye on software biggies as they could move up smartly in the short-term. Key pivotals: Sterlite Industries (Rs 1032): This is one of the top performing stocks from the metals space. After a brief correction in the past few weeks, the next leg of the uptrend appears underway. The outlook is bullish and a move to Rs 1250-1300 appears likely. The bullish view would be valid as long as the support at Rs 876 is not breached. Have a stop loss at Rs 870 for long positions. DLF (Rs 944): The stock price moved in line with expectations and the sharp rally on Friday indicates that the upward move has gathered momentum. The share price is on course to move to the target zone of Rs 975-980 mentioned last week. Have a stop loss at Rs 870 for long positions. Long term investors would find opportunities to exit at or beyond Rs 1100. Wipro (Rs 460): The steady downward move over the recent months has been arrested at the recent low Rs 428. A classic "double bottom" pattern appears to be in place. The stock could bounce to the immediate target zone at Rs 520-525 range. An overhaul of this target zone could result in a long term trend reversal and could result in a rally to Rs 625-650. The stock has to sustain above Rs 420 for the bullish view to be in force. Stock of the week: Voltas (Rs 241.1): The stock is in a long-term uptrend and appears to be headed towards Rs 275-280 range in the near term. Long term investors may find exit option at Rs 330-350 levels. The stock may be bought at current levels and weakness with a stop loss at Rs 221. Though a close below Rs 221 would impart short term weaknesss, it would not negate the long term bullish view. The stock has to close below Rs 192 for the long term bullish view to be invalidated. Via DNA</DIV>

Market may rally

Sensex (19,363.19): The month of November was tumultuous for stock markets across the world. The Indian markets displayed amazing resilien...