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Friday, January 05, 2007

Oil & gas scrips outperform


The Sensex slipped in the red, as selling pressure emerged in late afternoon session of trade, after staying firm in the first half of the day. However oil & gas stocks advanced following renewed buying interest.

Sensex shed 11.19 points to 13,860.52. It opened on a weak note at 13768.79 on account of weak global markets, slipped to an intra-day low of 13763.39 as selling continued in early trade. Sensex had hit intra-day high of 13971.82 in mid-morning trade, as buying interest intensified.

The S&P CNX Nifty lost 5.40 points (0.14%), to 3,983.40.

The market breadth was strong on BSE, as buying continued for small-cap and mid-cap stocks. On BSE, 1640 shares advanced as compared to 1007 that declined. 53 remained unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index closed down 5.32 points to 5936.67 while the BSE Small-Cap index gained 41.42 points to 7191.55.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4146 crore as compared to Rs 4532 crore on Thursday.

Among the Sensex pack, 18 declined while the rest advanced.

Reliance Communications was the top loser, down 3.90% to Rs 447.10 on 14.80 lakh shares. The stock had hit a high of Rs 489 in early trade.

Maruti Udyog was down 3.06% to Rs 938 on 3.31 lakh shares. The stock slipped to a low of Rs 930 on reports that the Government may rewrite small car specification for excise duty.

ITC (down 2% to Rs 165.50), Hindalco (down 2.52% to Rs 170.50) and Gujarat Ambuja Cements (down 2.59% to Rs 139) edged lower.

ONGC was the top gainer, up 2.81% to Rs 899.25 on 4.85 lakh shares following reports that it is close to buying up to 33% stake in two Caspian sea blocks offshore of Turkmenistan. ONGC's overseas investment arm, ONGC Videsh, will soon sign a deal to this effect with the operator, Denmark's Maersk Oil, and German oil and gas firm Wintershall, which is also a major stake holder. ONGC would pay $33.97- $45.29 million for a stake in two properties -- blocks 11 and 12.

The BSE Oil & Gas index sector jumped 81.46 points or 1.30% to 6338.55, and was the biggest gainer among sectoral indices. HPCL (up 3.34% to Rs 297.35), GAIL India (up 3.94% to Rs 275.55), BPCL (up 2.13% to Rs 351.75), IOC (up 1.32% to Rs 476.10) and MRPL (up 0.86% to Rs 41.20) gained.

ICICI Bank advanced 2.21% to Rs 910.10 on 7.53 lakh shares following reports its offshore dollar-denominated debt offering had received a strong response. It had hit a high of Rs 918.50.

Housing finance major HDFC rose 1.90% to Rs 1611.15 following reports it had raised prime lending rates by 50 basis points from 1 January 2007. This is HDFC’s third PLR hike during the current financial year. HDFC has, however, left fixed rates unchanged at 11%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 0.60% to Rs 1288 on 9.36 lakh shares. It moved in a range of Rs 1311.70 and Rs 1278.

Pyramid Saimira Theatre settled at Rs 158.20 on BSE on high volumes of 1.69 crore shares, compared to IPO price of Rs 100. The stock debuted at Rs 135. It hit a high of Rs 163.85 and low of Rs 125. The company had priced its IPO at the higher end of the Rs 88 to Rs 100 price band.

Tanla Solutions finished at upper circuit of Rs 379.80 on BSE, compared to IPO price of Rs 265. The stock debuted at Rs 379.80, which was also its high so far. It hit a low of Rs 365. 32.63 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE. Tanla Solutions had priced its IPO at the upper end of the Rs 230 to Rs 265 price band.

Frontline IT stocks witnessed profit booking ahead of December quarterly results. Infosys Technologies (down 0.48% to Rs 2274.80), TCS (down 0.10% to Rs 1262.55), Wipro (down 1.16% to Rs 598.80) and Satyam Computers (down 0.10% to Rs 501.50) edged lower.

ICSA (India) lost 1.40% to Rs 936.20 after the software firm secured an order worth Rs 15.28 crore from a power utility in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Biocon rose 1.13% to Rs 377.85 after the company entered into a joint-venture with Neopharma, a Abu Dhabi-based pharmaceutical company, to manufacture and market a range of bio-pharmaceuticals for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The joint venture would leverage the position of Neopharma in the region and would expand Neopharmas existing portfolio with a range of Biocon's generic and novel therapeutics that encompass diabetes, CVS, oncology, auto-immune and immunosuppressive drugs, Biocon said in a statement.

Iron ore exporter Sesa Goa jumped 11.32% to Rs 1727.25 following reports it will start negotiations on annual price contracts with major global customers from February 2007.

Ashok Leyland slipped 1.85% to Rs 45.15 on 11.89 lakh shares. The company said on Friday its total vehicle sales in December rose 29.6% to 5,890 units from 4,544 a year earlier. Ashok Leyland’s domestic sales rose 47.6% in December 2006 to 5,413 units from 3,667 units, while exports fell to 477 units from 877 a year earlier.

Dabur Pharma jumped 5.13% to Rs 81 after the company on Thursday announced the launch of its new nano technology based chemotherapy agent, Nanoxel, in the country.

Centurion Bank of Punjab was down 0.65% to Rs 30.50. The bank had received the Reserve Bank of India's approval for a preferential issue of equity shares. The bank plans to issue 75 million shares, representing about 4.8% of its total outstanding shares, at Rs 24.54 per share. The shares will be issued to India Advantage Value Fund V, managed by ICICI Venture Funds Management.

India's wholesale price index rose 5.48% in the 12 months to 23 December, which is higher than the previous week's annual rise of 5.43% due to an increase in some food and manufactured product prices, data showed on Friday. The annual inflation rate was 4.62% during the corresponding week of the previous year.

The Nikkei average booked lost 1.51% as investors took profits in Honda Motor Co. Ltd., steel firms and others that logged aggressive gains in a year-end rally. Exporters such as Honda and Fanuc Ltd. were also hurt by gains in the yen, which rose on speculation the Bank of Japan could lift interest rates as early as this month, while energy firms were hit by a decline in oil prices. The Nikkei slid 262.08 points to 17,091.59, its lowest close since 21 December

Asian markets were trading weak. The key benchmark indices in South Korea (down 0.83%), Singapore (up 0.17%), China (down 2.74%), and Taiwan (down 1.25%), edged lower.

The next major trigger for the market is Q3 December 2006 results. While strong Q3 results are already factored in share prices, market players will be closely watching what the company managements have to say about outlook for Q4 March 2007 and FY 2008 (year ending 31 March 2008). Infosys kickstarts Q3 earnings season on 11 January.

After Q3 results, the market will be eyeing the Union Budget 2007-08. A build up of long positions is likely on expectations of favourable policy announcements in the budget, according to dealers.

As per provisional data FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 231 crore on Thursday. They were net sellers to the tune of a substantial Rs 698 crore in index-based futures on that day. They net bought index based options to the tune of Rs 520 crore. They were net sellers to the tune of Rs 22 crore in individual stock futures.

US stocks rose on Thursday, driving the Nasdaq up more than 1 percent, as technology and biotech stocks gained after positive analyst comments and a drop in oil prices below $56 a barrel increased optimism about corporate profits. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 6.17 points, or 0.05%, to end at 12,480.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.74 points, or 0.12%, to finish at 1,418.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 30.27 points, or 1.25%, to close at 2,453.43.

US crude dropped sharply on Thursday after weekly oil inventory data showed a larger-than-expected rise in US gasoline stockpiles, extending a loss in crude futures from the previous session to cause its biggest two-day percentage loss in more than two years. US crude oil for February delivery fell $2.73, or 4.7 percent, to settle at $55.59 a barrel