Market makes over 90 points; all sectoral indices end in green

The market held firm for the entire session, as buying continued following the smooth rollover of open positions in the derivatives segment, from March to April. Of more interest today, was the contribution made by small-cap and mid-cap shares to the rally. All sectoral indices on BSE closed in the green. A slower-than-expected rise in inflation also brightened the sentiment. The surge is also attributed to building up of fresh positions, anticipating robust set of Q4 and FY 2007 results from India Inc.

The 30-share BSE Sensex settled 92.44 points (0.71%) higher, at 13,072.10. The benchmark index had opened higher, at 13,018.21. It also spurted above the 13,100 level in the late-afternoon session of trade, to touch a high of 13,111.87. Fresh buying, especially in metal producing and FMCG stocks, was the cause of this renewed zest in the Sensex, which had also stooped to a low of 13,000.12.

The financial year 2006- 07 is the fourth year on-the-trot of gains for the Sensex, which added 15.9% to last fiscal's tally.

The S&P CNX Nifty gained 23.45 points (0.62%), to close at 3,821.55. It had settled FY-2007, up 12.3%.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2974 crore.

The market-breadth was also strong on BSE. There were close to 1.7 gainers for every loser. Against 1,672 shares advancing, 899 declined and 68 shares remained unchanged on BSE.

The BSE Mid-Cap Index rose 64.95 points (1.22%), to end at 5,384.12, while the BSE Small-Cap index ended 92.72 points (1.45%) higher, at 6,470.51.

Among the 30-Sensex pack, 19 advanced while the rest declined.

Power sector PSU, NTPC, was the top-gainer, up 2.86% to Rs 149.45, on volumes of 9.39 lakh shares. NTPC said it had signed an agreement with KFW, Germany, for a term-loan of $100 million. The loan agreement, which state-run NTPC signed, is an unsecured facility without sovereign guarantee bearing variable interest linked to LIBOR, and has a maturity of 10 years. The loan will part-finance renovation and modernisation (R&M) of NTPC's power plants.

Pharma major Dr Reddy’s Labs advanced 2.76% to Rs 724.90, while another pharma giant Ranbaxy Laboratories edged up 2.24% to Rs 353. The BSE Healthcare Index advanced 67.61 points (1.89%), to 3,649.43. Orchid Chemicals (up 5.52% to Rs 262.80), Lupin (up 4.55% to Rs 604), Sun Pharma (up 3.72% to Rs 1055), and Matrix Labs (up 3.68% to Rs 176) also rose.

Shares from the FMCG sector were also in demand. The BSE FMCG Index added 26.89 points (1.57%), to finish at 1,739.10. Cigarette major ITC surged 2.41% to Rs 150.25, on high volumes of 17.55 lakh shares. ITC had earlier hit a high of Rs 152.75.

Dabur India (up 5.59% to Rs 95.40), Britannia (up 2.32% to Rs 1250), P&G (up 7.62% to Rs 834.90) and Nirma (up 1.64% to Rs 160.85), were the other gainers from the FMCG pack.

Tata Motors rose 1.56% to Rs 726. Tata Motors intends to set up one more automobile plant in the country within two years. This will be a commercial vehicle facility for which the process of identifying a suitable site is under way. The company’s decision to set up a commercial vehicle plant was prompted by significant growth the segment has witnessed over the past couple of years.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 1.22% to Rs 1372.60, as 5.66 lakh shares got transacted. The scrip also attained a high of Rs 1373.50.

IT major Wipro was the top-loser, down 1.42% to Rs 557.50, on a volume of 2.16 lakh shares.

HDFC (down 1% to Rs 1520), TCS (down 1.20% to Rs 1332) and Bhel (down 1.14% to Rs 2253) were the other losers.

Indiabulls Real Estate was the top-traded counter, grossing Rs 184.35 crore on BSE, followed by Shree Renuka Sugars (Rs 77.79 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 77.25 crore) and Bharti Airtel (Rs 63.15 crore).

Sugar stocks were the star performers for the day. They surged on high volumes on expectations of benefiting from soaring crude oil prices. Earlier this week, there were reports that the government will offer export incentives worth Rs 1350 - Rs 1450 a tonne to sugar mills. Shree Renuka Sugars surged 11.40% to Rs 478, on a volume of 17.35 lakh shares. Bajaj Hindustan jumped 9% to Rs 197.40, on a volume of 23.65 lakh shares, while Sakthi Sugars soared 19.10% to Rs 105.45, on a volume of 48.40 lakh shares.

The BSE Metal Index rose 1.71%. SAIL (up 2.05%), JSW Steel (up 4%), Jindal Steel (up 1.30%), Hindustan Zinc (up 3.11%) and Hindalco (up 1.79%) are some of the notable gainers in the metals pack.

Oil exploration as well as offshore services firms were in demand after crude price surged. Hindustan Oil Exploration jumped 5.68% to Rs 67.90, while Cairn India surged 4.53% to Rs 132.60.

Among offshore oil services comapanies, Great Offshore surged 2.78% to Rs 606.15, Dolphin Offshore gained 5.06% to Rs 193.25 and South East Asia Marine Engineering & Construction rose 2.30% to Rs 181. A recent survey by Lehman Brothers notes the global spend on exploration and production will rise 13% in 2007. Exploration and production (E&P) companies increased their spending 20 - 30%, in 2005 and 2006.

Cinema chain operator Pyramid Saimira Theatre jumped 5% to Rs 269.10, after the company on Thursday joined hands with Baderwals Infraprojects, to build 200 malls in four years. Pyramid Saimira will hold 49% in this joint venture, Baderwals Pyramid Development, and will invest about Rs 250 crore in the next two years on the project estimated to cost Rs 12000 crore. The joint venture will include 100 larger format malls covering 3,00,000 sq ft each and budget hotels. By 2010, Pyramid Saimira hopes to have malls in 300 locations across India through such partnerships.

Private sector IndusInd Bank jumped 5.67% to Rs 41.95, on raising $33.83 million by issuing 29.49 million GDRs. IndusInd Bank said on Friday it had sold each GDR representing a share, at $1.147. Based on the current rupee rate of 43.55 per dollar, the price works out to about Rs 50 per share compared to Thursday (29 March)’s closing price of Rs 39.70 on BSE. Following the GDR issue, the equity capital of IndusInd Bank has gone up from Rs 290.32 crore to about Rs 320 crore.

Patel Engineering rose 2.11% to Rs 339, after the company said its joint venture with Gammon India had bagged an order worth Rs 806 crore for a 434-Megawatt hydroelectric project. The work involves construction of a 15-kilometre head race tunnel, a 140-metre deep surge shaft and a power house, Patel Engineering said in a statement.

The Himachal project, to come up on the Satluj river, has to be completed in 54 months. Patel Engineering also said its current order-book stands at Rs 4800 crore. Of these, 50% of the orders are in hydro division, 28% in irrigation and 22% in transportation and other sectors.

Pig iron producer Tata Metaliks gained 0.66% to Rs 84.10, after the company formed a joint venture with Japan's Kubota Corporation for making ductile iron pipes. The joint venture agreement between both parties has already been signed, Tata Metaliks said on Thursday.

The joint venture will be a subsidiary of Tata Metaliks. The project cost will be funded through an equal mix of debt and equity. Of the equity portion of Rs 75 crore, Tata Metaliks will pick up 51% and Kubota Corporation 44%, while the balance 5% will be held by Metal One of Japan. The manufacturing unit will come up on 40 acres in Kharagpur, West Bengal, which is adjacent to Tata Metaliks’ existing foundry grade pig iron facility. The new venture will use liquid pig iron from Tata Metaliks and is likely to become operational by 2009.

India's wholesale price index rose 6.46% in the 12 months to 17 March, matching the previous week's increase, data released a little while ago showed. The figure was slightly below a forecast of 6.50%.

India's current account deficit in the October-December quarter was $3.04 billion, compared with a revised deficit of $4.68 billion in the July-September quarter, the central bank said on Friday. Data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed the October-December merchandise trade deficit widening to $19.02 billion from a revised $16.06 billion in the July-September quarter. The RBI said the balance of payments (BoP) surplus in the October-December quarter was $7.51 billion, compared with a surplus of $2.27 billion in the July-September quarter.

India's foreign exchange reserves rose to a record $197.746 billion on 23 March, from $195.957 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its weekly statistical supplement on Friday. Analysts attribute part of the increase in the reserves to the central bank's aggressive dollar purchases to protect the rupee's export-competitiveness against other currencies.

RBI said foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms included the effect of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in its reserves such as the euro, pound sterling and yen. The foreign exchange reserves include India's Reserve Tranche Position in the International Monetary Fund.

The Nikkei Average edged up 0.14% on Friday, as Honda Motor Co rebounded along with other manufacturers, after data showed industrial output fell less-than-expected last month, and due to a weaker yen. The Nikkei was up 23.71 points, at 17,287.65. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 20.85 points (0.11%), to 19,800.93.

The mutual funds were expected to support stocks in order to prop up their year-end net asset values (NAVs) on the last trading session of the financial year FY 2007 (year ending 31 March 2007) today.

Exchanges have clubbed the settlement of trading done today with that of Monday (2 April)’s, as banks will remain closed that day for the financial year closing.

The market-wide rollover of March futures to April was at 70-72%, as against 78-80% during the previous expiry. Rollover in Nifty March futures to April was at 65%, against 74% in the previous expiry, according to estimates. A large portion of the rollover to April was of short positions, due to weak sentiment.

As per provisional data, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 639.68 crore in today's trade.

Oil rose from a six-month high after Iran, the Middle East's second-largest exporter, refused to free 15 British sailors and marines, adding to concern that its souring relations with the UK and US may disrupt supplies.

Crude oil for May delivery rose 68 cents, or 1%, to $66.71 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $66.70 in Singapore. On Thursday (29 March), the contract rose 3% to $66.03, the highest closing since 8 September 2007.

In London, Brent crude oil for May settlement rose 86 cents, or 1.3%, to $68.74 a barrel in electronic trading on the ICE Futures exchange. It was at $68.68 in Singapore.

US blue chips edged higher on Thursday, after data showed the economy in the United States grew at a faster clip than previously thought in the final quarter of 2006. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48.39 points, or 0.39%, to 12,348.75, rebounding after a three-day losing streak. The broader Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index gained 5.30 points, or 0.37%, to 1,422.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.78 point, or 0.03%, to 2,417.88.