Sensex settles above 14,200

The market was in an upbeat mood today, 14 June 2007, on strong buying momentum throughout the day. The benchmark, BSE 30-share Sensex, settled above the 14,200 mark.

Buying resumed in index pivotals after a 128-point fall of the Sensex on Wednesday, 13 June 2007. All the sectoral indices on BSE settled with gains. Firm global markets supported domestic bourses.

The Sensex registered a 200.69-point rally to settle at 14,203.72. It opened higher at 14,087.91 (also its low for the day) and kept on hitting fresh intra-day highs with the last being at 14,219.24, by 14:51 IST, as buying intensified.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 56.95 points, or 1.38%, to 4,170. The Nifty June 2007 futures settled at 4,155.05, a discount of 14.95 points compared to the spot closing.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4402 crore and NSE's futures & options segment clocked a turnover of Rs 28760.54 crore.

The market breadth was strong on BSE, with over 2 gainers for every loser: 1,734 shares advanced as compared with 837 that declined, while 98 remained unchanged

The BSE Mid-Cap Index rose 96 points, or 1.6%, to 6,161.61, while the BSE Small-Cap Index advanced up 97 points, or 1.34%, to 7,320.91.

Among the Sensex pack, 26 advanced while only 4 of them declined.

Housing finance major HDFC advanced 4.46% to Rs 1,829 on 79,920 shares and was the top gainer among Sensex constituents. The stock rose after chairman Deepak Parekh indicated that interest rates, steady at present, may go up marginally after two to three months. He added that possible tightening by the central bank could push up rates further. HDFC had already raised lending rates by 175 basis points during 2007 through three rate hikes in January, March and April 2007.

Meanwhile, as per reports, HDFC's realty fund has purchased 10% equity of Pune-based housing and construction company Paranjape Schemes for a total value of Rs 74 crore.

Cement major ACC gained 3.83% to Rs 829, while Grasim rose 2.56% to Rs 2423. Reports indicated that the current cement shortage in India can last till June 2009. This in turn will ensure that the cement prices remain firm.

IT stocks held on to early gains, after declining on Wednesday, 13 June 2007, as buying resumed. The The BSE IT Index advanced 1.4% at 5,033.76. Satyam Computers (up 0.44% to Rs 488.50), Infosys (up 2% to Rs 2022.60), Wipro (up 0.35% to Rs 532.50), and TCS (up 0.10% to Rs 1204), edged higher.

Other IT stocks, MphasiS (up 1.73% to Rs 316.90), i-flex Solutions (up 5.68% to Rs 2499), i Gate Global Solutions (up 1.10% to Rs 333.55), and HCL Technologies (up 0.65% to Rs 339.15) also ended higher.

The gain in IT stocks was despite the rupee rising today, 14 June 2007, buoyed by positive cues from high-yielding Asian currencies as dealers bet foreign investors would continue pouring in funds into the surging Indian economy. In early trade, the rupee was at 40.89/90 per dollar, moving up from Wednesday's 40.96/97. The rupee hit a nine-year peak of 40.28 in late May 2007.

Engineering & Construction major L&T advanced 3.32% to Rs 1,933 on reports that it is planning to group all its businesses under 15 verticals compared to the present 6 business divisions. The move is aimed focusing on a particular industry segment and improvement the company's effectiveness in that segment.

State-run engineering major Bhel rose 3.31% to Rs 1355. Led by Bhel and L&T, the BSE Capital Goods index gained 2.3% to 10,972.02

Metal stocks were in demand, in anticipation of firm prices after Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus, owned by Tata Steel, on 12 June 2007, attributed the decision to raise UK wire rod prices by at least 7% in the third quarter to rising demand. It said the price increase will apply to deliveries from 2 July 2007. Tata Steel had won a bid battle in January 2007 to take over Corus.

The BSE Metal Index surged 2.8% to 10,567.54, and was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on BSE. JSW Steel (up 5.53% to Rs 585), SAIL (up 4.86% to Rs 133.75), Sesa Goa (up 4.92% to Rs 1771) and Maharashtra Seamless (up 4.47% to Rs 607) gained.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 1.11% to Rs 1,692, on 5.79 lakh shares. RIL said on Wednesday, 13 June 2007, its Jamnagar refinery was working normally and output was as planned. The company clarified this after media reports had suggested that a unit at the Jamnagar refinery had been shut down.

Among the other heavyweights, State Bank of India (SBI) was up 1.87% to Rs 1313.55, while ONGC was up 2.50% to Rs 883.

Hero Honda Motors slumped 1.43% to Rs 685 on 1.42 lakh shares, and was the top loser from the Sensex pack. As per reports, Honda Japan's 100% subsidiary Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has charted out plans to capture a significant part of the Indian two-wheeler industry. HMSI will come up with a new scooter model to further strengthen its presence in the segment. The company also plans to foray into the entry-level 100cc segment and the higher segment bikes including the 500 cc imported compressive build-up units (CBUs).

The Hero Honda Motor stock has been declining steadily ever since reports that it has cut production following reduced demand as interest rates surged to five-year-high.

ICICI Bank lost 0.76% to Rs 906. ICICI Bank said during trading hours today, 14 June 2007, it would launch a share sale next week to fund robust demand for loans in the rapidly expanding economy. It will offer shares worth Rs 8750 crore ($2.1 billion) each in India and in the United States, with a greenshoe option for 15%, taking the total offering to Rs 20125 crore. The private sector bank will fix an indicated price band for the domestic follow-on offer on Monday, 18 June 2007. The issue will open for subscription on 19 June 2007 and close on 22 June 2007.

Banking shares saw renewed buying. Bank of India (up 4.87% to Rs 191.80), Bank of Baroda (up 5.96% to Rs 263.10), Andhra Bank (up 5.30% to Rs 86.35), Federal Bank (up 3.07% to Rs 283.90), and Vijaya Bank (up 6.75% to Rs 48.25) advanced from the banking pack. The BSE Bankex was up 0.7% at 7,417.66.

Tata Motors (down 0.50% to Rs 642.50) and ITC (down 0.10% to Rs 151.85), edged lower.

Shares of real estate developers were in demand after the IPO of DLF received good response. Unitech (up 8.62% to Rs 535.35), Ansal Infrastructures (up 3.50% to Rs 283.85), India Bulls Real Estate (up 2.73% to Rs 359.85), Sobha Developers (up 2.28% to Rs 850), and Parsvnath Developers (up 4.15% to Rs 331.55) gained.

As per latest data from the stock exchanges, property developer DLF's Rs 9,625-crore (at the upper end of Rs 500 to Rs 550 price band) IPO, was subscribed 3.12 times by 16:00 IST today, 14 June 2007. The IPO would constitute 10.27% of the fully diluted post-issue capital of the company. The issue closes today.

Sun Pharma rose 1.63% to Rs 1070 after a block deal of 6.50 lakh shares was executed in the counter in opening trade on BSE at Rs 1045 per share. The counter saw total volume of 7.43 lakh shares on BSE

Sun TV Network vaulted 8.30% to Rs 1477 after the broadcaster said it signed a long-term agreement with Nimbus Communications to broadcast live feed of one day international cricket matches to be held between on 23 June 2007 to 3 July 2007. The matches will be telecast on Sun News with Tamil commentary, on Gemini News with Telugu commentary and Udaya Varthegalu with Kannada commentary and is the first of its kind in Telugu and Kannada Languages.

PVR advanced 3% to Rs 224 on announcing exemption from the payment of entertainment tax for a period of 5 years for its premier multiplex at Juhu, Mumbai. The exemption available to the multiplex is 100% of entertainment tax for the first 3 years and 75% of entertainment tax for the forth and fifth year

Bihar Tubes rose 5% to Rs 89.60 after it announced acquisition of 100% shares of Apollo Metalex. Apollo Metalex manufactures GP sheets. The shares of Apollo Metalex will be acquired at book value and no premium will be paid for a running and profitable business including goodwill, Bihar Tubes said. The acquisition will cost about Rs 1.21 crore. The profitability of the company on a consolidated basis is expected to get a big boost from this transaction.

Advanta India soared 10% to Rs 1007.65 on institutional buying. On Friday, 1 June 2007, Advanta India, a unit of chemicals and pesticides maker United Phosphorus, had agreed to buy the business of Golden Seeds for Rs 60.10 crore to boost its vegetable seeds business. The company expects to pay an additional Rs 17.50 crore for Golden Seeds' inventories and receivables. Recently, the company had raised its FII investment ceiling to 49% of its equity capital.

Nagarjuna Construction Company advanced 1.49% to Rs 163 on securing a Rs 61-crore order from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, valued at Rs 61 crore. The project comprises construction of a hall for1,000 students and a kitchen-cum-dining hall. The work is to be completed over a period of 18 months.

Aban Offshore slipped from high of Rs 3036 to settled 0.16% higher at Rs 2991 on receiving a letter of intent from ROC Oil (China) company for deployment of its jack-up rig Murmanskaya Offshore China. The company announced the order win after market hours on Wednesday, 13 June 2007.

The estimated revenues from the contract ranges from $19.5 million for firm wells to $31.2 million (if optional wells are declared) exclusive of revenues for mobilization and demobilization.

Jetking Infotrain rose 5% to Rs 614.25 after its board scheduled a meeting on 20 June 2007 to consider issue of bonus shares. This announcement was made after trading hours on Wednesday, 13 June 2007. The company has a tiny equity share capital of Rs 2 crore and its latest book value per share is Rs 46.25. Its latest reserves are 7.25 crore. Its previous bonus issue was in 2004 in the ratio of 1:1.

Lupin moved up 1.81% to Rs 685 after receiving approval from US regulator for Trandolapril tablets. Lupin's Trandolapril tablets are the AB-rated generic equivalent of Abbott's Mavik(R) tablets, indicated for the treatment of hypertension. The brand had annual sales of approximately $49 million in the twelve months ended December 2006, based on IMS sales data.

IDBI edged up 0.92% to Rs 98.50 on plans to raise $1.5 billion through issue of bonds. The issue of bonds will be fund IDBI's future expansion and acquisition purposes, reports suggest. It would be a medium-term programme and the money would be raised in different tranches, including perpetual Tier I and Tier II capital. The funds would also used for carrying out operations of overseas branches proposed to be opened during FY 2008.

Aurobindo Pharma jumped 3.87% to Rs 755 on reports it is setting up a wholly owned subsidiary for collaborative research in Hyderabad and is planning to hire over 2,000 scientists by 2008. It would focus on basic research & development (R&D) and contract research. Aurobindo currently employs over 6,000, including 700 scientists.

ICRA galloped 13.65% to Rs 907 after the credit rating firm signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Corporation Bank to assign ratings to the small scale borrowers of the bank. Under this MoU, ICRA will assign ratings to small scale industries (SSIs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are borrowers of the bank.

Global Broadcast News spurted 3.03% to Rs 909.10 on proposal to launch a 24 hour Marathi language news and current affairs channel. The channel is being launched through a 50:50 joint-venture with the Lokmat group, owners of Lokmat, the most widely circulated newspaper in Maharashtra, and having other publications including Lokmat Times and Lokmat Samachar.

Majority of Asian indices moved higher today as exporters such as Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics advanced on positive US economic news, while Woodside Petroleum took its cues from rebounding energy prices after crude oil moved back above $66 a barrel in the US.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.40% while Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.62%. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 1.25%), Singapore's Straits Times (up 0.63%) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 2.74%) also logged gains.

However, China’s Shanghai Composite was down 1.47% to 4,115.29. All the European markets were trading higher.

Wall Street rebounded smartly on Wednesday, 13 June 2007, as bond yields eased and economic data came in stronger than expected. The Dow saw its biggest point gain since 19 July 2006. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) jumped 187.34 points, or 1.41%, to 13,482.35. The index is still 193.97 points below its record close of 13,676.32 reached on 4 June 2007. Broader stock indicators also advanced sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 22.67 points, or 1.52%, to 1,515.67, and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 32.54 points, or 1.28%, to 2,582.31.

Crude oil rose 91 cents, to $66.26 a barrel, after a government report showed a smaller-than-expected gain in United States supplies of motor fuel last week.

FIIs were net sellers in equities to the tune of Rs 307.80 crore on 13 June 2007