Sensex rallies on metal and auto stocks

The market witnessed a sharp pull-back after witnessing a slump for the last couple of sessions. The rally was mainly triggered by the buoyancy in heavyweights, metal and auto stocks. Realty stocks on the bourses also rallied sharply today, as the market value of DLF, India's biggest real estate firm, crossed rupees one-trillion mark on hopes that the Reserve Bank of India may not raise interest rates at a credit review later this month. Firm close in other Asian indices also helped the market to rally. The Sensex resumed with a positive gap of 53 points at 14964 and surged on sustained buying in front-line stocks. The index moved within a range thereafter. However, hectic buying towards the close helped the Sensex to touch the day's high of 15112 and end the session at 15092, up 182 points. The Nifty closed by adding 59 points at 4446.

Among the sectoral indices the Metal index led the upsurge with gains of 3.34% at 11475 followed by the BSE Realty index (up 3.33% at 7880), the BSE Auto index (up 1.75% at 5007) and the BSE Bankex (up 1.57% at 8216). The market breadth was extremely positive. Of the 2,713 stocks traded on the BSE 1,793 stocks advanced, 858 stocks declined and 62 stocks ended unchanged.

Out of the 30 Sensex stocks, 25 managed to end in the green while five stocks ended with losses. Hindalco was the leading gainer and soared 7.03% at Rs166. Reliance Energy jumped 6.82% at Rs669, HDFC Bank shot up by 4.42% at Rs1,201, BHEL advanced 4.12% at Rs1,641, Reliance Communication moved up by 4.04% at Rs562, Bajaj Auto added 3.11% at Rs2,195 and M&M gained 2.86% at Rs803. Among the laggards Ambuja Cement dropped 1.17% at Rs126, ONGC shed 0.95% at Rs893, Infosys declined by 0.41% at Rs1,922, Satyam fell 0.25% at Rs480 and L&T slipped marginally at Rs2,377.

Over 2.49 crore Reliance Natural Resources shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Nagarjuna Fertilizers (1 crore shares), IFCI (97.49 lakh shares), IKF Technologies (86.40 lakh shares) and Tata Teleservices (70.30 lakh shares).

GMR Infrastructure registered a turnover of Rs454 crore on the BSE followed by DLF (Rs228 crore), Time Technologies (Rs148 crore), Reliance Energy (Rs133 crore) and Unitech (Rs118 crore).

Sensex, Nifty strike record closing highs

The market started on a strong note and gained strength throughout the trading session as buying continued even at higher levels. Hopes of more inflows to mutual funds contributed to the rally. All the sectoral indices save one logged gains, with shares from auto, banking, real estate, capital goods and metal sector contributing to the rally, supported by firm global markets. IT pivotals, however, underperformed.

The 30-shares BSE Sensex surged 181.42 points or 1.22% at 15,092.04. This is an all-time closing high for the Sensex. It opened higher at 14,963.53, tracking upbeat global markets, and advanced to an intra-day high of 15,112.22 by 15:15 IST, coming close to crossing the all-time high of 15,114.95, which was touched on 10 July 2007. The benchmark index oscillated in a range of 148 points. However, there was absence of volatility.

The S&P CNX Nifty struck an all-time high of 4,451.95. It rose 59.15 points to 4,446.15. It also settled at its lifetime closing high. The Nifty July 2007 futures settled at 4,443.35, a slight discount of 2.8 points compared to spot closing

The market breadth was strong on BSE with a little over 2 gainers for every loser: 1,820 shares advanced as compared to 894 that declined, while 61 remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap Index 1.17% higher at 6,782.69, after striking an all time high of 6,803.35. The BSE Small-Cap Index rose 1.74% to 8,215.56. It also struck an all time high of 8,222

The turnover on BSE vaulted in last one hour of trade. BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 6,080 crore as against Rs 5,494 crore on Wednesday, 11 July 2007. Today's high turnover indicates fresh buying momentum.

The NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 43,187.29 crore as compared to Rs 34,043.56 on Wednesday, 11 July 2007.

Today's rally was despite industrial production growth slowing for the second month, in May 2007, as the highest interest rates in five years crimped demand and currency gains weakened exports. Output at factories, utilities and mines rose 11.1% from a year earlier, following a revised 12.4% increase in April 2007.

Manufacturing output was up 11.9% in May from a year earlier, the slowest pace in four months, while consumer goods output growth halved to 9.8%.

Among the Sensex stocks, 22 gained, while only five declined.

Aluminium and copper major Hindalco Industries galloped 6.94% to Rs 165.70 on high volumes of 55.31 lakh shares. It was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. The stock advanced on hopes of consolidation of global aluminum industry. As per reports, Alcan Inc. is closer to arranging a friendly deal involving Rio Tinto as it fights a hostile $28.8-billion bid from Alcoa Inc.

Other metal shares Tata Steel (up 2.35% to Rs 670.90), JSW Steel (up 3.28% to Rs 690), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.76% to Rs 738.95), Sterlite Industries (up 5.41% to Rs 643), and Sail (up 4.72% to Rs 144.35) edged higher.

The BSE Metal Index surged 3.34% to 11,475.26, and was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on BSE.

Reliance Energy (REL) vaulted 6.50% to Rs 666.50 on its plans to invest Rs 60,000 crore to add 15,000 mega watts (MW) of power over the next five years. This will boost the company's generation capacity almost 17 times from 941 MW now. The stock was also boosted by market rumors that promoters may hike their stake in REL by 5%, taking it around to 40%

Auto shares surged on renewed buying as fears of further interest rate hike receded. The BSE Auto Index rose 1.8% to 5,006.55. Maruti Udyog (up 2.80% to Rs 828.40), Tata Motors (up 1.09% to Rs 740) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 3.38% to Rs 807.25) gained.

Motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto advanced 3.30% to Rs 2,199 after the company said its profitability will increase in the second half of the fiscal year as it introduces new models to woo buyers deterred by higher borrowing costs.

The company reported during market hours today, 12 July 2007, a 21% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 201.15 crore in the first quarter ended June 2007 when compared with Rs 255.77 crore in Q1 June 2006. Consolidated income from operations declined to Rs 2,206.43 crore, from Rs 2,294.28 crore.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.13% to Rs 1721, on 4.19 lakh shares. The Bombay High Court today postponed, to July 18, a hearing on Reliance Industries' (RIL) appeal against an interim order that restricted it from selling gas from its block in the Krishna-Godavari basin to any company other than NTPC and Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL).

Meanwhile, RIL is reportedly preparing to bid for constructing and operating a $7 billion greenfield refinery in Central America.

Banks were in demand on a view that interest rates have peaked for the time being. The BSE Bankex was up 1.7% at 8,215.51. State-run banking major State Bank of India advanced 0.76% to Rs 1,554, while private sector banks ICICI Bank (up 1.39% to Rs 967) and HDFC Bank (up 4.49% to Rs 1,202) also advanced.

Oriental Bank (up 4.76% to Rs 254), Bank of India (up 2.69% to Rs 254.15), Bank of Baroda (up 2.05% to Rs 283.50), and Federal Bank (up 1.16% to Rs 313), also moved upwards.

Capital goods shares rallied on belief that these companies are expected to show robust growth in earning in the next couple of years on strong order book position. The BSE Capital Goods Index was up 1.5% at 12,940.79.

Stare-run engineering major Bhel surged 4.63% to Rs 1,649.50 after striking an all-time high of Rs 1,650.

Astra Microwave (up 14.27% to Rs 179.80), Bharat Bijlee (up 7.32% to Rs 2400), Alstom Power (up 6.87% to Rs 880.50), Gammon India (up 4.29% to Rs 457), and Siemens India (up 3.68% to Rs 1459.90) also advanced from the capital goods space.

Hindustan Unilever advanced 1.41% to Rs 205.25. As per reports, parent Unilever is once again seen as a takeover target. One report cited competitor Colgate-Palmolive Company of the US as a potential buyer. Unilever shares surged on the European bourses amid these rumors on Wednesday 11 July 2007. Parent company Unilever holds 36.01% in Hindustan Unilever. Parent Colgate-Palmolive Company USA holds 40.06% in Colgate-Palmolive (India). Colgate-Palmolive India was down marginally by 0.05% to Rs 381.35.

IT pivotals underperformed in a strong market. The BSE IT Index rose marginally by 0.03% to 4,870.06. Infosys (down 0.66% to Rs 1,917), and Satyam Computers (down 0.59% to Rs 478) and Wipro (down 0.02% to Rs 510.15) declined, while TCS rose 1.06% to Rs 1,159.

IT bellwether Infosys on Wednesday, 11 July 2007, cut its EPS and revenue guidance for FY 2008 in rupee terms following the rupee's surge against the US dollar.

The Indian rupee fell 1% against the dollar on Thursday due to central bank intervention. In early afternoon deals, the partially convertible rupee was at 40.60/61 per dollar, after falling to the day's low of 40.75 from high of 40.33 earlier. The rupee hit a nine-year high of 40.28 per dollar in late May 2007.

Salora International (up 20% to Rs 124.85), Murudeshwar Ceramics (up 19.96% to Rs 109.10), Stovec Industries (up 19.96% to Rs 125.90) and Sayaji Hotels (up 19.95% to Rs 73.95), were the top gainer from the small-cap and mid-cap pack

Arihant Foundations (down 7.49% to Rs 405.20), Cravatex (down 6.67% to Rs 154), Jayant Agro (down 5.31% to Rs 112.30), Birla Kennametal (down 5% to Rs 362), and Wearology (down 5% to Rs 252.15) slipped form the small-cap and mid-cap pack

GMR Infrastructure galloped 13.86% to Rs 954 on high volumes of 48.79 lakh shares. It also struck an all-time high of Rs 980 in intra-day trade on BSE. It was the top traded counter on BSE with turnover of Rs 458.54 crore. The company had bagged the tender for developing the Sabiha Gokcen International (SGA) airport in Istanbul, Turkey. SGA is the second airport in Istanbul besides Istanbul Ataturk airport, on 11 July 2007.

Real-estate stocks rallied on renewed buying interest on hopes that interest rates have peaked. The BSE Realty index, launched by BSE on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, surged today and struck an all-time high of 7,934.49. It settled 3.33% higher at 7,880.70. A heavyweight in this index, Unitech surged 6.05% to Rs 575, and another heavyweight DLF surged 3.14% to Rs 609. Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.15% to Rs 507.15) and Mahindra Gesco Developers (up 1.67% to Rs 567.50) also gained.

Greenply Industries surged 7% to Rs 177.50 on successfully implementing its expansion project at its laminate unit at Behror, Rajasthan.

Aban Offshore rose 1.67% to Rs 3126 after Hardy Exploration & Production (India) Inc. extended its contract with the company for two years with effect from 28 July 2007. The revenue estimated during the extended period amounts to $63.875 million, the company said

VST Industries slumped 5.96% to Rs 375 on turning ex-dividend after distributing a large dividend of Rs 20 per Rs 10 share. The company's equity capital is Rs 15.44 crore, with 1.54 crore outstanding shares.

Megasoft rose 2.96% to Rs 153 after it acquired the Boston Communications Group Inc. for $65 million. The company made the announcement after market hours yesterday, 11 July 2007. The company leveraged internal accruals and long-term debts for acquiring BCGI. Founded in 1988, BCGI is a leader in providing solutions for prepaid and postpaid billing, payments and access management.

KEC International rose 1.4% to Rs 563 on bagging two Rs 176-crore contracts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, UAE. The work involves supply, erection, installation and commissioning of 380-kilo-vat (KV) transmission line comprising a total distance of 53 kilo metres (km) on the outskirts of Riyadh.

Lanco Infratech gained 8.7% to Rs 251.25. On 9 July 2007, it announced that the 500-mega watt (MW) (4x125) Teesta VI hydro power project being developed by Lanco Energy, a subsidiary of the company, in Sikkim has achieved financial closure. The project, estimated to cost Rs 3,000 crore, would be financed with a debt of Rs 2,400 crore and equity of Rs 600 crore.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation advanced 4.32% to Rs 296.95 on reporting a rise of 26.93% in net profit in Q1 June 2007 to Rs 323.15 crore as against Rs 254.58 crore in Q1 June 2006. Sales declined 2.61% to Rs 6296.61 crore (Rs 6465.61 crore). The results were announced after market hours on Wednesday, 11 July 2007.

Meanwhile, as per reports, the committee on secretaries has given a go-ahead to public sector enterprises (PSEs) to invest a part of their cash reserves, estimated at over Rs 2,50,000 crore, in mutual funds. Reports suggest that PSEs may be allowed to invest up to 10% of surplus cash in equity mutual funds.

All the Asian indices advanced today, 12 July 2007, helped by the recovery on Wall Street. However Japanese Nikkei lost 0.36% at 17,961.75, after opening higher.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 0.89% at 22,809.02), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 0.68% at 9,354.41), Singapore's Straits Times (up 0.82% at 3,624.56) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 1.06% at 1,909.75) edged higher. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.30% to 3,915.91.

European markets were trading mixed.

Bank of Japan (BoJ) left its key policy rate unchanged at 0.50% for the fifth month on Thursday, 12 July 2007, a widely expected move that sets the scene for a possible rate hike next month.

Wall Street bounced back on 11 July 2007, boosted by takeover activity ahead of second-quarter earnings reports. Investors, shaken by profit warnings earlier in the week, appeared to be cautiously optimistic as they awaited quarterly earnings reports. The Dow Jones advanced 76.17 points, or 0.56%, to 13,577.87.

Broader indexes also staged a rebound. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.64 points, or 0.57%, to 1,518.76, while the Nasdaq Composite index moved higher by 12.63 points, or 0.48%, to 2,651.79.

Oil prices were higher on Thursday, 12 July 2007 as the market continued to fret over US gasoline (petrol) reserves. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August 2007 delivery, was eight cents higher at $72.64 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for August 2007 delivery rose 10 cents to $75.54.

Intraday Stock Ideas

NIFTY (4387) Supp 4365 Res 4410

BUY Bombay Dyeing (618) SL 612
Target 630, 633

BUY Colgate (382) SL 378 
Target 390, 392

BUY Bharat Forge (312) SL 308
Target 320, 322

SELL Hero Honda (699) SL 705
Target 689, 686

SELL GSFC (174) SL 178
Target 166, 164

Infy storm passes, relief likely for bulls

The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.

With IT leader Infosys cutting guidance, the critical question now is what is the way forward for the markets in general and IT stocks in particular. Infosys results show that the rupee appreciation is having a major impact on the software industry. Even the top rung companies like Infosys are not able to fend it off. Though things my improve a little in the ensuing quarters, one has to take a call on the sector from a 12-month horizon. In the short-term, the IT sector may continue to be a laggard.

Today, things are looking bright, on the back of the overnight rally on Wall Street and healthy trend across Asian markets. But, our market will be driven by the quarterly numbers as the result season has only just begun. We do not see a non-stop advance from here as the indices are near lifetime highs. There will be many pit stops before the bulls can reach another milestone (16k, 17k or even 18k on the Sensex).

Uncertainty continues for the broader market given the sharp spike from the February-March crash. Valuations are not cheap by any means, and that too for a market which has not delivered great returns year-to-date vis-a-vis other emerging markets. As a result, we expect the current choppiness to continue for a while as the upside from here looks capped.

The large caps appear to be richly valued and in some cases even overvalued. Only a select few will have legs to rise sharply from these levels. The action, therefore may be outside the main indexes. However, one has to be extremely careful while picking the small- and mid-caps.

US stocks logged modest gains on Wednesday, on the back of renewed M&A news despite the lack of any significant earnings or economic news. Positive assessment of the economy by Fed officials also helped boost the sentiment.

Nucor Corp. and Alcoa led the S&P 500 Index to its sixth gain in seven days after Chaparral Steel agreed to be bought for $4.22bn and the Times of London reported that Alcan may be the target of a bidding war.

The S&P 500 advanced 8.64 points, or 0.6%, to 1518.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 76.17 points, or 0.6%, to 13,577.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 12.63 points, or 0.5%, to 2651.79.

Biotech firm Genentech reported a quarterly surge in earnings and revenues, handily beating Wall Street estimates. But shares of the California-based company declined in after-hours trading after finishing up 1.4% in regular trading.

Shares of the fast food operator Yum Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut and KFC, climbed over 2% after the company said its quarterly results topped expectations, while it raised its annual profit forecast.

Motorola shares slipped in extended trading after the mobile phone maker warned of a loss and lower revenue in the second quarter and that it did not expect its mobile device business to be profitable for 2007.

Oil prices finished lower after a weekly report on US fuel inventories showed a surprise decline in oil inventories. US light crude for August lost 25 cents to $72.56 a barrel. The front-month contract was quoting 7 cents up at $72.63 a barrel in extended trading.

In the bond market, Treasury prices fell, lifting the yield on the 10-year benchmark note to 5.09%, up from 5.02% late on Wednesday. The dollar fell to a record low against the euro for the second-straight session amid continued subprime worries. The greenback edged higher against the yen. COMEX gold for August fell $2.30 to $662.10 an ounce.

European markets fell as exporters were hurt by weakness in the dollar and financial-services stocks were dumped because of worries about a downbeat US housing market. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index lost 0.3% to 392.71. The German DAX 30 closed down 0.8% at 7,898.54, the French CAC-40 ahead 0.3% to 6,001.09 and the UK's FTSE 100 declined 0.2% to 6,615.10.

In the emerging markets, the Bovespa in Brazil rose 0.85% to 56,356 while the IPC index in Mexico advanced 0.55% to 31,916 and the RTS index in Russia added 0.9% to 1995.

Asian markets are up sharply this morning.

BHP Billiton led the rally among regional metal shares on higher commodity prices and speculation of further takeovers in the industry. Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest mining company, rose to a record after the Times of London said it was set to bid for Alcan.

South Korea's Posco paced a rally in steelmakers after US-based Chaparral Steel agreed to be bought for $4.22bn.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index climbed 0.3% to 157.59 at 10:44 a.m. in Tokyo, after falling yesterday by the most in two weeks. An index of materials shares including BHP posted the biggest advance among its 10 industry groups.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.4% to 18,127.90. The yen weakened against the dollar and euro. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 274 points at 22,881. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent. All markets open for trading advanced.

An index of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) added 1.1% overnight. Copper advanced 0.4%, zinc gained 2.1% and nickel climbed 2%.

Volatile day ended in negative territory as key indices witnessed a sea-saw trading session. Benchmark Sensex gyrated over 150 points and NSE Nifty nearly by 70 points. The markets opened on a weak note as weak global cues and lower guidance from IT frontrunner Infosys dragged the key indices lower. Selling pressure in the IT, Auto, Select Banking and Capital Good stocks also further dragged the markets down. Realty stocks were the pick of the day as DLF, IB Real-estate and Unitech gained momentum. Finally, the 30-share Sensex lost 99 points to close at 14910. NSE-50 Nifty slipped 18 points to close at 4387.

Infosys dropped by over 4.5% to Rs1929. The IT heavyweight reported a consolidated net profit of Rs10.79bn for Q1 FY08 versus Rs11.44bn in the previous quarter. However, revenues were flat at Rs37.73bn compared to Rs37.72bn in the January-March quarter. The company cut its earning forecast as rupee has been continuously appreciating against the US Dollar hitting the company's earning's. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs2000 and a low of Rs1925 and recorded volumes of over 47,00,000 shares on NSE.

HDFC edged lower by 0.6% to Rs1904. The company declared that they have sold 15.25mn shares to CMP Asia for 1730 per share. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs1933 and a low of Rs1900 and recorded volumes of over 2,00,000 shares on NSE.

Sadbhav Engineering edged lower 0.4% to Rs590. The company announced that they have sold 1.6mn shares at Rs575 per share to large investors. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs597 and a low of Rs589 and recorded volumes of over 13,000 shares on NSE.

Natco Pharma gained by 1% to Rs134 after the company purchased US Based Savemart Pharmacy. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs143 and a low of Rs132 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on NSE.

Realty stocks shined in a dull market led by gains in heavy weight DLF as the scrip was up over 3% to Rs590, IB Real-estate surged by over 7% to Rs501, Parsvnath was up by 2% to Rs383, Akruti Nirman advanced by 1% to Rs501 and Unitech added 3% to Rs542.

Cement stocks were also among the major gainers. Heavy weight ACC surged by over 3.5% to Rs1071, Mangalam Cement advanced 2.5% to Rs169, India Cement gained 1.1% to Rs219. However, Gujarat Ambuja was down by 1.55 to Rs127.

IT stocks were the top losers as the index was down nearly by 3%. The Indian rupee further strengthened against its currently trading at Rs40.38 per dollar. Satyam Computer lost 3.4% to Rs480, TCS declined 3% to Rs1148, Wipro declined 1.6% to Rs511 and Mphasis BFL slipped 2.6% to Rs306.

Banking stocks also were under pressure on back of profit booking. ICICI Bank slipped 1.1% to Rs953, PNB was down by 1.6% to Rs529, SBI declined by 0.6% to Rs1541 and Corp Bank lost 1.2% to Rs347.

Results Today:

Bajaj Auto, Geojit Financial, Jaybharat Textiles, Kilburn Engineering, KSL & Industries, Pyramid Saimira, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Technocraft and UTI Bank.

Fund Activity:

FIIs were net buyers of just Rs993.4mn (provisional) in the cash segment on Wednesday. On the other hand, local institutions were net sellers at Rs3.15bn. In the F&O segment, FIIs offloaded stocks worth Rs10.16bn on the same day.

On Tuesday, FIIs poured in Rs7.02bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were net sellers of Rs1.68bn.

Major bulk Deals:

Citigroup has bought Ahmednagar Forgings while Deutsche Securities has sold the stock; Bear Stearns has sold Global Vectra Helicorp; DSP Merrill Lynch has sold India Infoline; Citigroup has purchased JM Financial; Morgan Stanley has picked up Karuturi Networks; Citicorp Banking has sold Lupin; HSBC has bought Pritish Nandy Communications and Lotus Global has sold Shiva Cement.

Insider Trades:

Prithvi Information Solutions Limited: Mr. V Satish Kumar, Managing Director has purchased from open market 5000 equity shares of the company on 3rd July, 2007.

Financial Technologies (India) Limited: Funds under the management of FMR Corp and its direct and indirect subsidiaries and Fidelity International Limited and its direct and indirect subsidiaries has sold in open market 112763
equity shares of the company on 29th June, 2007.

Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited: UBS Securities Asia Limited - A/C Swiss Finance Corporation (Mauritius) Ltd has sold in open market 280000 equity shares of the company on 6th July, 2007.

Divi's Laboratories Limited: OPPENHEIMER FUNDS INC. AC OPPENHEIMER Developing markets has purchased from open market 120,000 equity shares of the company on 9th July, 2007.

Lower Circuit:

Anant Raj Industries, Hindustan Dorr, Borosil.

Upper Circuit:

Tripex Overseas, Evinix, Goldstone Technology, Sunil Hitech, GVK Power, Tanla, GMR Industries, Shree Ashtavinyak, Radha Madhav, Ganesh Forgings, Bank of Rajasthan, Ramco Systems.

Delivery Delight :( Rising Price & Rising Delivery)

Ashok Leyland, Ballarpur Industries, Cummins India, Elder Pharma, Essar Oil, Grasim, HLL, Indian Hotels, JP Associates Jindal Stainless, Prism Cement and Sintex Industries.

Abnormal Delivery:

Tulip IT Services, Sakthi Sugars, Punj Lloyd, HT Media, Tata Elxsi, Avaya Global Connect, Corporation Bank and 3M India.

Major News & Announcements:

Reliance Communication places $400mn order with Alcatel-Lucent

NTPC Board approves Rs10bn investment in Aravali Venture

KEC International secures two projects worth Rs1.76bn

Accentia Technology plans $3 acquisition of BPO firm

Dabur India to absorb Dabur Foods

Infotech Enterprise sells 8.5% stake to GA Global investments

Sadbhav Engineering sells 1.6mn shares at Rs575 a share to large investors

HCL Tech wins 3-year contract from Konica Minolta

Natco Pharma buys US Based SaveMart Pharmacy

HDFC sells 15.25mn shares to CMP Asia for 1730 per share

Daily Strategist Note

The NIFTY futures saw a rise of 1.27% in OI with lower opening but later on recovered and closed almost flat indicating that lot of short positions built  up in the initial hours of trade but later on  market remained flat indicating that if it sustains above 4380 levels we may see shorts covering their positions in the market thus one should not make aggressive short positions in the market.  The Nifty July series futures discount came from 14 points to 1 point indicating shorts covering their positions and fresh long positions built up at lower levels.  The FII were sellers in index futures to the tune of 654 crs and buyers in index options to the tune of 255 crs indicating hedged positions built up by them.  The PCR has remained unchanged to 1.55 levels indicates strength may be seen in the market at current levels. IV in the market was 23.65 and HV was 16.34.
 
Among the Big guns, ONGC saw 0.29% drop in OI with prices coming up indicating buying emerging at lower levels in the counter suggesting some strength may be seen in the stock.  RELIANCE  saw flat OI with prices almost flat  indicating some consolidation may be seen in the stock before any sharp direction o either side.
 
In the TECH counters INFOSYSTCH saw rise of 6.22% OI with prices negative but later on remained flat indicating lot of short positions built up in the counter indicating that if the counter sustains at current levels we may see aggressive short covering.  TCS, & SATYAMCOMP saw drop in positions with prices down  thus suggesting liquidation of long  positions I the counter suggesting some profit booking may be seen in these stocks.
 
In the CEMENT  counters ,  ACC saw rise of  4.74 %   in OI with  prices moving up suggesting long positions built up in the counter suggesting strength may be seen in the stock.  INDIACEM saw rise in OI with prices marginally up indicating    buying emerging in the counter and we may see some consolidation at current levels. GUJAMBCEM saw built up in OI with prices coming down indicating short positions built up in the counter suggesting some weakness may remain in the counter.
 
In the Metal pack, TATASTEEL & JSWSTEEL saw rise in OI with prices positive suggesting further strength may be seen in the counter. SAIL saw rise in OI with prices up indicating fresh long positions built up in this stock suggesting further strength may be seen.  HIINDALCO saw rise in   OI with prices flat indicating some consolidation may be seen in the counter.  NATIONALUM saw 2.38% rise in OI with prices positive suggesting fresh buying emerging thus indicates of further strength.  STER  saw rise in OI with prices coming down indicating built up of short positions in the counter suggesting some weakness may be seen.
 
We feel that the volume and built up in OI suggests that market may show some volatility with positive bias in the coming days and market is having support around 4350 levels. One should trade with strict stop losses to be adhered too as market is at all time high.