KPIT Cummins

KPIT Cummins

Job search second most popular activity on Internet: Survey

The technology boom may have made IT sector the top career choice, but software geeks account for only one-fifth of those scouting for jobs online - the second most popular activity on the Internet.

Besides, searching jobs online is no more limited to big cities and only four out of 10 online job seekers in urban India come from the top 10 metro cities, according to a survey by online research consultancy firm JuxtConsult India.

A majority of 61 per cent of online job seekers come from non-metro towns - 31 per cent belonging to smaller non-metro towns and 30 per cent from the larger non-metros, it reveals.

In terms of functional background, just 21 per cent of the total number of online job seekers in urban India, estimated at about 18.4 million, come from the IT or software area, the JuxtConsult India Employee Speak 2007 study found.

According to the survey, three out of four urban Indians (73 per cent) are logging on to the Internet in search of a job, making it the second most popular online activity after emails. This represents a sharp increase over 53 per cent of active Internet users searching for jobs in 2006.

Sending emails is the most popular activity with a user base of close to 24 million, or 95 per cent of the total active Internet users.

With over 80 million white collar employees and prospective students being active in the job market, nearly one in four white-collar job searchers is currently using a job portal in conjunction with other models to find a suitable job, it said.

The other online activities in top five are - instant messaging (15.6 million and 62 per cent of total Internet users), checking news (61 per cent and 15.4 million) and music (60 per cent and 15.1 million).

Chatting (59 per cent and 14.9 million), checking sports (57 per cent and 14.4 million), e-greetings (57 per cent and 14.4 million), online games (54 per cent and 13.7 million) and dating or friendship (51 per cent and 12.9 million) make up the top ten list of activities on the Internet.

JuxtConsult said among job seekers, two-third of them are looking for a change, while one-third are understood to be looking for their first job.

According to the study, 64 per cent people who search jobs online are already employed and are looking for better prospects, while remaining 36 per cent are either unemployed or 'freshers' looking for the first break.

Among the various job portals in India, Naukri has retained its leadership position with a 37 per cent of user preference, despite a fall of 12 per cent from 49 per cent in 2006. International player Monster, which has acquired Indian firm Jobs Ahead, has seen an increase in its popularity to 27 per cent in 2007 from 19 per cent last year.

Times Jobs has also seen an increase in its user base, which has doubled to 14 per cent this year, while the two generic portals Google and Yahoo are ranked at fourth and fifth positions. Google's user preference base has increased to 5 per cent from 3 per cent in 2007, while Yahoo has retained its base at three per cent.

The top three job portals -- Naukri, Monster and Times Jobs -- together account for 78 per cent of the total user preference, while just one in ten online job seekers are visiting generic portals like Google and Yahoo.

India Strategy - Sep 14 2007

India Strategy - Sep 14 2007

PowerGrid issue attracts $30 b overseas subscriptions

Power Grid Corporation of India’s public issue has attracted $30 billion (over Rs 1,20,000 crore) in overseas subscriptions, the issue itself getting subscribed 64 times overall. As margin money alone, the issue would bring in $3 billion in forex into the country.

“We received subscriptions worth over Rs 1,90,000 crore,” said Mr S. Subramanian, Head of Investment Banking, Enam Securities, one of the managers to the issue. “Institutional buyers subscribed 116 times, bringing in around $41 billion. Three-fourths of this institutional subscription came from overseas investors.”

The retail response to the PowerGrid issue was five times, and that of high net worth individual was 40 times. It would have raised Rs 2,900 crore at the upper end of the price band. As many as 57.39 crore shares were offered at a price band of Rs 44-52. As per data available on the NSE site, bids for 37 billion shares were received.

“We would think this is the largest issue ever, in particular the overseas response has been a bumper one,” said Mr Subramanian. This issue was particularly attractive to overseas pension funds, and the response was not unexpected, said Mr Arun Kejriwal, Director, Kejriwal Research Information Services.

With the huge power capacities that are coming up in the country, a transmission company like Power Grid has a straight forward, safe business, he said. “Overseas pension funds would definitely find a low risk investment attractive.”

Domestic pension funds and provident funds were also seen to be active, perhaps for the first time in the equities market, said Mr Subramanian. Overseas investors have also put in funds expecting a rupee appreciation, noted an investment banking official. Reliance Petroleum Ltd had fetched around $25 billion in subscriptions from the institutional category (including domestic and overseas), pointed out another investment banking official

FMCG Earnings

FMCG Earnings

Post Market Commentary

The markets tumbles to close the session on a negative note as BSE Sensex closed lower by 10.64 points at 15,603.80 and the Nifty fell by 10.95 points to close at 4,518. The BSE mid cap and Small cap closed lower by 49.70 points and 65.50 points at 6,897 and 8,572.76 respectively. The market breadth was weak with 1743 stocks declined and 963 stocks advanced.

BSE bankex index grew by 54.17 points to close at 8,136.11 as ICICI bank (2.64%), HDFC bank (1.33%), Bank of Borada (0.46%) and Kotak bank (0.12%) closed in green.

BSE oil & gas index increased marginally by 8.45 points to close at 8,387.22 as Cairn Ind (1.13%), Reliance industries (0.39%) and Reliance petroleum (0.15%) closed higher while BPCL (1.40%), HPCL (0.56%), ONGC (0.22%) closed lower.

BSE Auto Index fell by 53.87 points to close at 4,885.47 TVS motors (4.55%), Maruti udyog (2.95%), bajaj auto (1.65%), M&M (1.12%) and Tata Motors (0.12%) and Punjab tractors (0.27%) closed in green.

BSE Capital goods index dropped by 22.32 points to close at 13,701.56 as Thermax limited (2.10%), Praj industries (1.58%), Punj Lloyd (1.27%), Siemens (1.14%), BHEL (0.65%) closed higher.

BSE IT index decreased by 33.43 points to close at 4,449.14 as Mphasis (3.90%), Finance tech (2.21%), HCL tech (1.57%), Wipro (1.57%), TCS (0.70%) closed in red.

BSE Health Care Index closed lower by 28.32 points to close at 3,665.56 as Lupin (2.69%), Cipla (1.71%) Sun pharma (1.14%), ranbaxy (0.78%) and Dr Reddy (0.18%) closed in negative.

BSE Metal index closed higher by 55.33 points at 11,979.96 as Sterlte (2.75%), Jindal Saw (2.45%), Bhusan steel (1.97%), Jindal steel (0.53%) and JSW steel (0.41%) closed higher.

BSE FMCG index grew marginally by 2.02 points to close at 2,072.81 as united spirits (2.76%), Godrej consumer (1.28%), ITC (0.73%) and Colgate Palmolive (0.33%) closed in positive.

Amway to expand business in India

A middle-aged woman aspiring to look young again, a young boy wishing he were taller, a dirty toilet seat and a grimy exhaust fan in need of cleaning -- these are some of the images that make up Amway India Enterprises’ first television commercial scheduled to go on air on 19 September.

It will be the first time that Amway, a direct selling consumer goods company that has been present in India since 1998, will advertise on television.

“Through the commercial, the company is showcasing solutions to everyday problems in the areas of health and personal hygiene, homecare and beauty, in which Amway is present,” said Ajay Gahlaut, creative director, Rediffusion|DYR, the advertising agency that manages the Amway account.

The company spent Rs6 crore on advertising in 2006, and has earmarked a budget of Rs 14 crore for this year. “Over 60% of this, is likely to go to TV,” said the company’s spokesperson.

Direct selling companies rarely advertise on TV.

“The concept of direct selling is based on eliminating the middle men and promotional activities which normally take up 60-70% of the operational costs,” said Ajay Gupta, country head, sales and marketing, Sunrider India Pvt. Ltd, a direct selling company, and member of Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA). “The only reason a company will go for mainstream advertising is when they are trying to expand their brand presence.”

That is precisely what Amway is aiming at.

The company, which says its revenues in 2006 stood at Rs 738 crore, has set itself a target of clocking in Rs 1,500 crore by 2010.

“We have invested money in mass media advertising, which is completely different from the regular operational costs of the company, which remains unaffected. The budget for our presence in television comes from the company’s profitability,” said Naveen Anand, vice president, marketing, Amway.

According to IDSA estimates, the direct selling industry in India is currently at Rs 3,100 crore growing at 20%. Some of the other players in the industry include Forever Living Products India Pvt. Ltd., ModiCare Ltd, Sunrider India, AMC Cookware India Pvt. Ltd, Hindustan Lever Network, Oriflame India Pvt. Ltd, Avon Beauty products India Pvt. Ltd and Herbalife International.

Amway has plans to double their number of offices to 300 from 120. They are also looking at adding more products to their portfolio, says Anand. With such aggressive expansion plans, the company says it needs to strengthen its bond with its end consumers. “Hence, the decision to advertise on television, a mass medium,” he noted.

So far, the company has been visible on print and outdoor mediums only. The shift to television also comes in sync with the shift in India’s economy.

“We want to reach out to a larger audience because our products are created keeping in mind the changing lifestyles of consumers today. There are more working mothers, less time for personal care and more need for nutritional supplements,” said Anand.

The company has in the past three years added India specific products to their portfolio. “We have our global skincare brand called Artistry but it competes with premium brands globally, which is sometimes too expensive for India,” said Anand. “So we launched a range for women called Attitude and for men called Dynamite, which has the same offerings but at one-third the price,” he added. The company has also introduced vitamins and protein powders thats are suitable to Indian consumers physical demands. “We have recently added iron for women and protein powders for men which have been in demand in India.”

“The new commercial aims to reach out to households and tell them that Amway has quick answers to everyday problems whether its regarding beauty or hygiene,” said Rediffusion’s Gahlaut.

Sensex ends down 10pts

Backed by firm US cues the Sensex opened with a positive gap of 100 points at 15,714. Fresh buying, thereafter, saw the index rally to a high of 15,825 - just 44 points shy of an all-time high.

Selling emerged in noon deals following weakness in the European markets as a result of which the index began to pare gains. Sustained selling saw the index slip into red to a low of 15,568 - down 257 points from the day's high.

The Sensex finally ended with a marginal loss of 10 points at 15,604.

The market breadth was negative - out of 2,761 stocks traded, 1,744 declined, 964 advanced and 53 were unchanged today.

INDEX MOVERS...

ICICI Bank surged 2.6% to Rs 907. HDFC Bank has added 1.3% to Rs 1,229.

Larsen & Toubro was up nearly 1% at Rs 2,592.

AND THE SHAKERS....

NTPC and Maruti plunged around 3% each to Rs 186 and Rs 866, respectively. ACC shed 2% to Rs 1,107.

Cipla and Bajaj Auto slipped 1.7% each to Rs 172 and Rs 2,377, respectively.

Wipro and Hindustan Unilever declined 1.5% each to Rs 450 and Rs 212, respectively.

Reliance Communications, SBI and Grasim were down 1.3% each to Rs 543, Rs 1,654 and Rs 3,224, respectively.

Mahindra & Mahindra and Bharti Airtel were the other major losers.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Debutant Iwind Energy topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 360 crore followed by IDFC (Rs 350 crore), India Cements (Rs 222.60 crore), Reliance (Rs 139.50 crore) and India Infoline (Rs 132.40 crore).

Iwind Energy led the volume chart with trades of around four crore shares followed by IDFC (2.73 crore), Ispat Industries (2.41 crore), IFCI (1.46 crore) and IKF Technologies (1.16 crore).

Eveninger - Sep 14 2007

Eveninger - Sep 14 2007

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Weekly Newsletter

Industry growth slips...but Govt says don't worry

A high base effect, possible inventory issues, a stronger rupee and high interest rates pulled down the expansion in industrial production in July, the Government said. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) stood at 252.2 in July, which is up 7.1% compared to the same month last year, when the growth in industrial output was 13.2%. Meanwhile, the Government revised down the June growth to 9% from the preliminary estimate of 9.8%. As a result of the sharp deceleration in July, the cumulative industrial production growth during April-July 2007-08 too fell to 9.6% from 11.1% in the corresponding period of last year. The manufacturing sector grew by 7.2% in July compared to 14.3% in the same month last year. Mining sector growth declined to 4.9% from 5.1% in July 2006 and the electricity sector expanded by 7.5% versus 8.9% a year ago. Basic Goods, Capital Goods and Intermediate Goods grew by 9%, 12.9% and 4.7%, respectively. The Consumer Durable and Consumer Non-durable recorded growth of (-) 3.2% and 8.4%, respectively, with the overall growth in Consumer Goods being 5.3%.

But, the Government sought to allay concerns over a possible slowdown in the economy. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath took pains to explain that the fall in July industrial production was just an aberration, and that things should stark looking up due to the onset of the festival season. "There is no evidence of slowdown in investment. There is evidence of slowdown in production in some sectors," Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi on the slackening of industrial output in July. "Except for automobiles there is no evidence of production cut back either," he said. Separately, Kamal Nath said the slowdown in industrial growth in July was not a matter of great concern and that the Government remains optimistic that it will achieve manufacturing expansion of 12% this fiscal. Chidambaram expressed the hope that there was reasonable expectation that demand will pick up during the festival season that is already underway and runs through the end of the year. "No conclusions can be drawn from one month's figure, positive or negative," Chidambaram said.

Northern Rock sends Europe into a tizzy

European equity markets slid on Sept. 14, after a British home lender said the Bank of England (BOE) agreed to provide it emergency funds to ease a severe liquidity squeeze, linked to the subprime contagion in the US. Shares of UK's Northern Rock shares tumbled a record 25% and dragged down other financial companies with it after saying that global credit markets have not recovered and there continues to be a severe squeeze on liquidity. It also warned the turmoil will have a significant impact on profit as margins are squeezed and lending is reduced. Northern Rock is the UK's fifth-largest mortgage lender in terms of volume, though it only has around 70 branches, and is headquartered in Gosforth, in the north of England.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 1.8% to 365.47 at 1:32 p.m. in London, as more than 10 stocks fell for each one that rose. The index is down 8.6% since reaching a 6 1/2-year high on June 1 on concern turmoil in the credit markets will spill over to the broader economy, eroding earnings. National benchmarks fell in all of the 18 western European markets except for Greece. The UK's FTSE 100 decreased 2%. France's CAC 40 slid 1.1%, and Germany's DAX lost 1%. Stocks extended declines after China raised interest rates for the fifth time since March to curb the fastest inflation since 1996 and cool speculation in stocks and real estate. A report showing US retail sales rose less than economists estimated last month also weighed on shares.

Flat close on Dalal Street

Just when things were looking bright for the bulls and they were inching closer towards new all-time highs, the market got another global jolt. Key indices reversed their early gains amid fresh concerns over a deepening global credit crisis. Stocks across Europe nose dived after Northern Rock Plc of the UK said the Bank of England agreed to provide emergency funds to ease a severe liquidity squeeze. The tremors of that news were felt on Dalal Street as well. Banking stocks suffered the most as concerns over subprime issue came back to haunt the bulls again. But, on the week, Metal, Real Estate, Cement, Small-Cap and Oil & Gas shares were among the major gainers. IT and Pharma stocks were on the losing side.

Despite the sudden jitters on the last trading day of the week, the market consolidated over the week ahead of the outcome of the Fed policy meeting on September 18. The Nifty managed to add mere 9 points or 0.2% to close at 4518 and the Sensex added just 14 points or 0.01% to finish at 15,604. Among the index heavyweights, HDFC, RIL, REL, Tata Power and Ambuja Cements were the big gainers.

Power stocks had an electrifying week. Suzlon jumped by over 7% to Rs1372, REL surged 3.8% to Rs882 and Tata power rose 3.5% to Rs743. Strong response to the Power Grid IPO was one of the factors. The issue received record response, and was subscribed 65 times. The company fixed an issue price of Rs52 per share.

Weakness continued in IT stocks amid concerns about wage inflation and rupee's persistent appreciation. Wipro led the fall. The scrip was the top loser in the Sensex, falling by over 5% to Rs450. TCS lost by over 5% to Rs1022, Satyam shed 4.2% to Rs430 and Infosys declined 4.1.% to Rs1830.

Firm metal prices on the LME boosted metal stocks on Dalal Street. Tata Steel rose over 2.2% to Rs935. Sterlite Industries was an outperformer. The scrip surged by over 5.5% to Rs645. SAIL gained 2% to Rs171 and Bhusan Steel added 2.3% to Rs935.

Oil & Gas stocks were also in demand during the week. RPL surged by over 6.5% to Rs130. MRPL advanced 3.8% to Rs48. Reliance Industries recorded smart gains adding 3.6% close at Rs2034 after announcing an acquisition in Malaysia. The Government's decision to approve its gas pricing formula with a minor change also had a positive impact on the stock.

Fertilizer sector remained abuzz, after the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers pointed out four different options for increasing availability of fertilizer and attracting investment in the sector. Nagarjuna Fertilizer rose over 3.5% to Rs44.

Market awaits Bernanke & Co's move

Bulls would certainly hope that the rally continues for the coming week, as FIIs have resumed their buying spree and the main indices are very close to their new peaks. However, global volatility could spoil the party for the bulls as the credit crunch continues to haunt world equity markets, with bad news emerging every now and again. Also, there is a likelihood of some profit booking as the main indices have been on the rise consistently over the past four weeks. Investors could also take it a bit easy and wait for the next set of results before taking a call on the market. The biggest event will be Tuesday's Fed meeting, where the US central bank is expected to announce a big cut in rates to sooth a jittery market and ward off the threat of a recession. What the Fed's policy panel says about the US economy and the subprime crisis will be very crucial as well. Though the medium to long-term outlook is bullish, in the near term the market is likely to be choppy and range bound. Notwithstanding the sharp pullback from last month's fall, one needs to be cautious at every rise.

EGoM approves RIL gas pricing

After dragging its feet over the issue for several weeks, the Government approved the gas pricing formula and the price-discovery process of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) with only minor changes. The Empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM), which met for a third time, lowered the proposed price of the gas at Kakinada to US $4.20 per unit from US $4.33. The price at which RIL will sell its gas from the KG basin to consumers will be valid for five years, after which it will be open for revision. RIL will not be required to call for fresh bids. The EGoM said the approval of RIL's gas price will not affect the outcome of the legal cases NTPC and Anil Ambani's RNRL have filed for fuel supplies against the Mukesh Ambani company.

Inflation falls to two-year low

India's inflation, based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), declined to its lowest level in two years in the week ended September 1 due to cheaper mineral and energy prices, the Government said. The wholesale inflation was 3.52% in the first week of September, compared with 3.79% in the previous week, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said today. Analysts forecast ranged between 3.2% to 3.3%. The annual inflation rate was at 5.34% during the corresponding week of the previous year. The WPI rose 0.4% to 214.4 from 213.6. The index for Primary Articles climbed 1.3% to 227.5 from 224.5, while the index for Fuel & Power fell 0.1% to 321.9 from 322.1. The index for Manufactured Products rose 0.2% to 185.9 from 185.6. Meanwhile, the Government revised the inflation rate for the week ended July 7 to 4.61% from 4.27%.

Indian banks not affected by subprime woes: RBI

The ongoing crisis in the US subprime mortgages won't hurt Indian banks as their exposure to instruments such as Collateralised Debt Obligations (CDOs) is very limited, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor V. Leeladhar said. He also said that Indian banks were on course to meet the international Basel II framework that aims to match capital reserve requirements to the risks faced by banks. To a query about the central bank's discussion paper on banks forming holding companies for their subsidiaries in life insurance and asset management, Leeladhar said the RBI regulator will soon finalise guidelines for the same. "The responses have started coming. The moment the deadline is over, we would consolidate all responses and wherever necessary we would try to modify it," the RBI Deputy Governor said. However, he did not give any timeline for the release of final guidelines.

August car sales up 18% yoy

Car sales in the domestic market rose by 18% last month, fueled by new launches by the likes of Maruti, Mahindra-Renault and General Motors and discounts. But, bike sales continued their downward spiral, falling 11% from a year earlier. Passenger car sales increased to 98,893 units in August from 83,864 in the same month a year earlier, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said. But, motorcycle sales fell to 418,702 units from 470,955 in August last year, according to the SIAM data. Sales of commercial vehicles stood at 36,409 units in August, up 3.2% from 35,268 in the corresponding month a year earlier.

GSM operators add 5.95mn new users in August

India's GSM-based telecom service providers added 5.95mn new connections subscribers last month, taking their total customer base in the country to 147.7mn, data released by the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) showed. Bharti Airtel added 2.05mn new connections in August, taking its total customer base to 46.8mn, the COAI data reveals. Vodafone Essar added 1.67mn new users to take its subscriber base of 34.1mn. BSNL added 725,392 new subscribers in August, taking its user base to 29.7mn. Idea Cellular gained 866,629 new users in August, lifting its user base to 17.9mn. Reliance Telecom did not announce its August numbers. Aircel, which is 74% owned by Malaysia's Maxis, 458,408 new users and MTNL saw its base rise by 60,117 new users, and Spice Communication added 107,234 new subscribers.

Power Grid issue subscribed 65 times

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL), was subscribed 65 times, spurred by strong response from the institutions. India's biggest power transmission company received bids worth a whopping Rs1.9 trillion as against the issue size of Rs30bn. The price band of the 100% book built issue was fixed at Rs44-52 per share. PGCIL offered to sell 382.6mn new shares while the Government offered to sell 191.3mn shares. The company plans to reserve 13.98mn shares for eligible employees and the net offer to the public will be 559.9mn shares. The shares on offer will account for 13.6% of PGCIL's fully diluted, post-issue capital. The Government's stake will reduce to 86.3% from 100% now. PGCIL is raising funds to part-finance its capital expenditure. The country's transmission sector requires an estimated investment of Rs700bn during the 11th plan.

Govt permits Jet Airways to fly on Gulf routes

The Government allowed Jet Airways India Ltd. to fly on the India-Middle East routes from January. The move ends the monopoly of the public sector airlines on the crucial sector. The decision was conveyed to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Starting January 1, Jet Airways will be allowed to operate flights to Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. The airline's request to fly to Dubai and Abu Dhabi is being considered, it said. Jet Airways had applied for traffic rights on Gulf routes on July 18. At present, Indian carriers' total entitlement on the Gulf routes is 85,481 seats per week. But, the utilisation by Indian carriers of the available Gulf routes is 49,348 seats per week only.

Cairn India gets Govt nod for pipeline

Cairn India Ltd. said the Government had approved its proposal to build a US$700mn pipeline for transporting crude from its Mangala oil field in Rajasthan, to the Gujarat coast. The Indian subsidiary of the UK-based oil & gas producer got permission to acquire the land for laying the 582-km pipeline from Barmer to Salaya. The pipeline will take minimum 18 months to complete. While MRPL, a subsidiary of ONGC, has agreed to take 1.2 million tons of crude, the balance will be shipped from a Gujarat port to refiners on east and west coasts. Cairn India plans to start production from Rajasthan fields by first half of 2009. The production can go up to 150,000 barrels per day. ONGC has agreed to bear 30% of the cost. Cairn India will fund the balance.

Lipitor case...Ranbaxy scores partial win in Canada

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. said a Canadian court had partially ruled in its favour in connection with the patent dispute over Atorvastatin, the chemical name of Pfizer's blockbuster brand Lipitor. The Federal Court of Canada ruled that Pfizer's patent covering a crystalline form of Atorvastatin, the active ingredient in Lipitor, would be infringed by Ranbaxy's process for making the proposed generic Atorvastatin product. The Toronto-based court accepted Pfizer's application, seeking to prevent Ranbaxy from launching its generic version of Atorvastatin until the expiration of the patent (Canadian Patent No. 2,220,018) in July 2016. At the same time, the Federal Court of Canada dismissed Pfizer's application to deny issuance of a Notice of Compliance (NoC) as regards a second patent covering a process for making amorphous Atorvastatin (Canadian Patent No. 2,220,455), which also expires in July 2016. Ranbaxy said it will appeal this decision and remains confident in its position.

Sun Pharma receives USFDA approval for Protonix

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced that USFDA has granted final approval for the company’s Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market its generic version of Wyeth’s Protonix, pantoprazole tablets. The generic drug includes two strengths: 20 mg (base) and 40 mg (base). These strengths of Protonix have annual sales of about US$2.3bn. Sun Pharma, being one of the first-to-file an ANDA for generic Protonix with a para IV certification, shares a 180-day marketing exclusivity. Separately, US-based Sepracor Inc and the University of Massachusetts filed a patent infringement suit with the US district court of New Jersey against Sun Pharma, to prevent the Indian firm from selling a generic version of Sepracor's drug Desloratadine, branded Clarinex. The drug is used to treat the symptoms of allergies such as sneezing, watery eyes, and runny nose, and had US sales of US $325mn in 2006.

BHEL forms JV with NTPC for EPC contracts

BHEL and NTPC signed an MoU to form a joint venture for carrying out engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities in the power sector. The co-operation between the two PSUs comes at a time when the government is contemplating to set up a second company for manufacturing high-capacity power equipment, promoted by NTPC. As per the MoU, both NTPC and BHEL will have 50:50 equity participation in the new venture. The exact capitalisation of the company is still to be worked out. It has been decided that the post of Chairman and MD will be rotated between the two companies. The proposed joint venture would take up EPC contracts for power projects, both in domestic and overseas market.

RIL sets tone on deal street

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) said it would acquire Hualon Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd of Malaysia for US$250mn. Hualon is a leading polyester producer in Malaysia with a polyester (fibre, yarn and resin) manufacturing capacity of half a million tons per annum along with downstream textile manufacturing capabilities spread over two locations in Malaysia namely, Nilai and Malacca. It is one of the largest exporters in Malaysia. This will help RIL consolidate its position further as the World’s largest polyester manufacturer with 2.5mn tons capacity, 25% increase from the current capacity and increase in revenue by around US$1bn. This acquisition will bestow RIL with more than 7% global market share in polyester fibre and yarn.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) has reportedly decided to pull out of the race for buying Ford's troubled British luxury marquees - Jaguar and Rover. At the same time, a financial daily reports that Tata Motors is very much interested in bidding for the priced automobile brands, and is believed to be among the three main contenders. The other two suitors in the fray are private equity funds Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Ripplewood. Ford is likely to call for final bids for Jaguar and Rover by the middle of October and could wrap up the deal by the end of the year.

Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd. has joined the race for acquiring Canadian aluminium giant Alcan's packaging business, Chairman and Managing Director Sudip Dutta said. "We have bid...it is really in the first stage ... it will take another six to eight months," Dutta told a business news channel. Earlier, a business daily reported that Ess Dee, which makes packaging material for pharmaceutical companies, was pitted against Indian rival Essel Propack and Australia's Amcore. The deal size is estimated to be worth around US$1bn or 1.2 times the sales of the target.

BPCL said its wholly-owned subsidiary Bharat PetroResources Ltd. and Videocon Industries Ltd. will acquire a stake in EnCana Brasil Petróleo Limitada, Brazil for US$165mn in cash. The sale has an effective date of January 1 and is subject to normal closing conditions, regulatory approvals, pre-emptive rights associated with certain assets. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. As per the deal, the BPCL-Videocon combine will get interests in 10 deep-water offshore exploration blocks in four concessions in Brazil. Brazilian oil companies Petrobras and Anadarco also have a stake in EnCana Brasil and Petrobras is the operator in seven of the 10 blocks.

Bajaj Auto launches new 125 cc bike

Christened XCD 125 DTS-Si (Pronounced Exceed 125 DTS-Si) Bajaj Auto launched its much-awaited motorbike with the all new ‘Digital Twin Spark - Swirl induction’ (DTS-Si) engine. Designed and developed completely by the company's in-house R&D team, Bajaj Auto aims to upgrade 100cc customers with this revolutionary product. Bajaj Auto claims that the XCD 125 DTS-Si offers an unprecedented combination of 150cc features, 125cc performance and 100 cc mileage. The XCD comes in four colors and has an attractive ex-showroom price of Rs41,000 (Pune).

Strong debut for Motilal Oswal

Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. had a strong debut on the bourses on Sept. 11, with the stock rising as much as 21% amid optimism that a booming stock market will result in higher earnings for one of India's top brokerages. The stock opened at Rs999 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as against the issue price of Rs825. It finished the week at Rs969.6 after touching a low of Rs913. Motilal Oswal's IPO was for 2,982,710 shares and was subscribed 27.41 times overall. The QIB portion was subscribed 43.9 times, the HNI portion 10.26 times, the Retail category 4.44 times and the Employee category 1.75 times. Motilal Oswal plans to utilise the issue proceeds to improve its competitive position, support growth plans through long-term working capital, enhanced financing facility for customers, additional office space and technology enhancement.

Unitech up on news of entry in Nifty

Unitech shares climbed after the National Stock Exchange (NSE) decided to include the real estate major in its benchmark index, the S&P CNX Nifty. The Delhi-based Unitech will replace IPCL, which will cease to exist due to the merger with its parent company Reliance Industries. This will be the first time in the history of Indian stock market that a real estate player will be part of one of the two main stock indexes. On the S&P CNX 500 index, IPCL will be replaced by Mindtree Consulting. The changes will come into effect from October 5. Unitech is the second biggest real estate company in terms of market value after DLF, which has become the numero uno after its listing this year. Unitech would rank 17th in the Nifty in terms of market cap.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe steps down

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered to step down from his post. According to Japanese media reports, Abe told executives from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party that he wanted to resign. Abe had been weighing the decision after approval ratings for his cabinet dropped below 30% following the party's defeat in upper house election in late July, the Nikkei News reported. Since he came to power in September last year, Abe's administration has been hit by a string of financial scandals leading to the resignations of four ministers and suicide by one minister. His government also came under fire when the extent of the mess and confusion in the public pension system came to light. The ruling coalition also faces a tough time passing a bill to extend the anti-terror special measures law.

Oil tops $80 despite OPEC raising output

Crude oil in New York crossed the US$80 per barrel mark amid concerns that the small increase in output by OPEC may not be sufficient to meet the peak demand in the fourth quarter of the year. The record high was also caused by a US Energy Department report that crude stockpiles saw the year's biggest decline last week. OPEC's decision to pump more oil failed to allay speculation of a shortage of crude next quarter, contributing to the gain. However, it fell from a record in New York after Tropical Depression Humberto weakened from a hurricane and passed over Texas without damaging oil rigs and refineries. Crude oil for October delivery fell as much as 64 cents, or 0.8%, to US$79.45 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at US$79.64 at 1:25 p.m. in London on Sept. 14. Brent crude oil for November settlement was trading at US$76.75 a barrel, down 37 cents, on London's ICE Futures exchange. On Sept. 13, oil in New York touched US$80.20, the highest intraday price ever, and for the first time closed above US$80 a barrel at $80.09. Prices are up 26% from a year ago.

Dollar slips to record low vs euro

The dollar declined to an all-time low of US$1.3927 per euro on Sept. 13 on growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates next week to aid the weakening US economy. The dollar index, which tracks the US currency's performance against a basket of major currencies, plumbed the 15-year low of 79.302. A government report showing less than expected rise in retail sales last month added to the weakness. Signs of a slowdown in consumption added to fear that credit market turmoil and a housing slump will lead the world's largest economy into a recession. But, the dollar saw some safe-haven flows on Sept. 14 after UK mortgage lender Northern Rock said it needs to tap the Bank of England for emergency funding as the credit crunch left it struggling to raise financing. The US currency has lost 4.9% against the euro this year as investors bet slowing growth will push the Fed to trim borrowing costs from 5.25% while the European Central Bank may need to raise its 4% benchmark further to tame inflation.

China ups rates to reign in inflation, liquidity

With inflation at 10-year high and fixed investment showing no sign of moderation, China raised interest rates for the fifth time this year to curb inflation expectation and tighten control over excessive liquidity. The benchmark one-year lending rate will increase to a nine-year high of 7.29% from 7.02%, starting tomorrow, the People's Bank of China said on its Web site. The one-year deposit rate will rise to 3.87% from 3.6%. The announcement was less than a month after the previous rate increase. China raised the reserve requirement ratio for a seventh time this year on Sep. 6. The latest interest rate hike was more or less expected after consumer price index (CPI) in August rose to an 11-year-high of 6.5%, leading to a 4% fall in stocks on Sept. 11, the largest daily drop since July 5. China's money supply remains too high despite a slowdown of M2 in August. During the first eight months, China's new renminbi-dominated loans reached 3.08 trillion yuan, nearly last year's total, pushing up urban fixed assets investment by 26.7%.

Cadbury turns down bid for drinks unit

Britain's Cadbury Schweppes Plc rejected a private equity bid for its North American soft drinks unit due to the financing of the offer rather than the overall valuation, industry sources said. The world's largest confectionery group turned down the offer of between 6.4bn and 6.9bn pounds (US$13-14bn) from the Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Lion Capital consortium last week as it did not like the terms, the Financial Times said. Cadbury executives objected to the terms, including a proposal under which the London-based confectioner would have financed part of the sale, the FT said. Cadbury said in March it would separate its Dr Pepper and 7UP unit. Meanwhile, reports said KKR may delay the sale of loans to finance the US $26bn takeover of First Data Corp. until next week after failing to agree on terms with bankers, people close to the negotiations said.

Weekly Stock Ideas

Buy DLF (665)
SL 658 Tgt 680, 685

Buy PSTL (329)
SL 321 Tgt 347, 352

Buy ICICI Bank (906)
SL 896 Tgt 929, 935

Buy India Cements (275)
SL 269 Tgt 286, 290

Buy IFCI (77)
SL 73 Tgt 84, 86

Weekly Close: Mid Cap Mania...

Jittery start for the week with US Unemployment data brought in worries across the globe of recession in US. Indian Indices trade volatile for the week but the mid cap and Small Cap counters kept the Investors interest and were the outperformers. Crude moved again to its high of $80 per barrels which saw some reason for hike in Fuel prices but Ministry mentioned of no hike. The Industrial growth which dropped to 7.1% in July from 13.2% in July 2006. IIP declined to 9.6% between April-July from 11.1% in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal which added to the worries. Telecom stocks too had to feel the pinch of the spectrum woes and the new TRAI norms. Fertilizers counter rallied ahead of the Subsidy news but went for profit booking as the meeting got postponed.

SBI intend?s to raise money worth Rs 10000 Crs which means higher equity clearly more FII stake will be vacated. This news brought in some strength in SBI. Reliance was yet again in the news with its buying out of polyestor capacity in Malaysia.

Globally speaking: Higher Unemployment data brought in hints of Fed cutting rates but also added the worries of recession along with it. Japan took the resignation of the PM in its stride.

Inflation numbers came lower at 3.52%, a two-year low, for the week ended September 1, from 3.79% a week before. The number came out lower despite higher food grain prices and increasing crude oil prices which might remain a threat to inflation in coming weeks.

Sensex and Nifty ended Flat for the week. Midcaps and Small Cap index ended up 1 % and 1.5% resp.

Weekly gainers are: HDFC (+4.22%), Rel Eng (+3.82%) RIL (+3.58%) and SBI (+2.34%) while the Losers for the week are: Wipro (-6.04%), TCS (-5.14%) Cipla (-4.65%), Satyam (-4.21%)

Bajaj Auto launched its New bike ? Exceed? which is in Executive segment priced at the rate of 100 CC. Honda reacted by saying that it will launch an array of products through its two subsidiaries Hero Honda and Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India (HMSI) to retain its combined 60% market share in the two-wheeler market. The new launches will be between 130 cc and 150 cc in the festive month of October when sales spurt due to auspicious buying during Dussehra and Diwali. Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors?s new bikes are of the twin-spark plug technology platform. A big negative for Honda is that Bajaj Auto?s 125-cc bike 'XCD 125' is at Rs 41,000 about Rs 3,000 lower than the cheapest bike of Hero Honda in that segment. Hero Honda is dependent on Honda to get it the technology and there is confusion now that Honda intends to have a 125 cc bike as well. Bajaj has showed some strength till now but hereon the wait will be whether the consumer will bite or not. We believe the consumer will but we are worried whether there will be all round growth. So performance for Bajaj hereon will be based on its dispatches and that?s not what we want to bet on right now.

Opto Circuits India is looking for acquisitions in Europe and US. The acquisition cost could be in the region of Rs 600-800 cr or less. The company is planning to develop Rs 400 cr special economic zone (SEZ) at Nanjanagud near Mysore where it plans to establish new manufacturing facilities for various healthcare and hardware electronic products. The Company is growing aggressively through the inorganic route, but still its big risk for this as a small one. The current plant location at Bangalore which is a 100% EOU; the new SEZ will let the tax benefit continue. However, the stent business itself is too technically oriented and carries a high risk of failure. In our talks with the management, the sales of the stents have been exceeding expectations. We like Opto as a business... But the risk from USFDA for Stents carries huge risk and that makes us wary at current prices. These talks of acquisitions will give some more wind to its sails.

ABG Shipyard is set to take over Western India Shipyard (WISL) for Rs 200 cr report papers. ABG will get management control of WISL and the 40% stake held by financial institutions led by ICICI Bank. It is a court initiated sale as WISL has more debt in its book. The current outstanding debt is Rs 280 cr. WISL is a one of the India?s largest composite ship repairer at Goa. WISL Revenues were placed at around Rs 53 cr. Assuming Rs 200 cr for the 40% stake valuations are placed at Rs 500 cr and also there is this extra 280 cr of debt giving an enterprise value of 780 cr. The ABGs Enterprise value to sales is 4.8:1. However, WISL is a loss making company and hence utilisation levels would be low. ABG has an order book of Rs 5000 cr which probably could be handled better using the facilities; this acquisition helps ABG to with a foot into ship repairing business and that should be a good fit. The acquisition seems strategically good for ABG. But the acquisition price is something where data is lacking to give a fair comment. Meanwhile the uncertainty of the subsidy continues...

Navneet exploded. The stock is up over 30% in last couple of days. There is some news on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The Central Government was earlier funding about 70% of the money to the schools and balance 30% was funded by the State. This has now been changed to 65% and 35% with an intention to go to 50% : 50% over the next couple of years. This creates an issue of sorts as States tend to make payments after all other expenses are met. Perennial budget deficits is their problem. We believe that could be a negative here. However for now Navneet is into a rerating mode. Educomp is one who pioneered here.. and Navneet has taken a leaf out of the book of Educomp. We believe Navneet with its brand and relationships with Educatoinal institutions is better placed to have its Animated educational software sold to schools. However they need to make it interactive the way Educomp has.

Few more Stocks rallied this week. Poly Medicure which is into manufacturing of health care disposables and medical device products in India. The Stock moved over 15% for the week. The Company was waiting for USFDA; we suppose that the company got the nod from USFDA. Eveready is another stock were we see great gains in coming as Zinc is the one which kept us worrying but even it got cooled off.

Sensex slips on subprime woes

A late bout of selling pressure saw the market slip from higher levels and end in the red. After posting a gain of more than 200 points in the first half, the market steadily declined from its early highs and wilted under selling pressure at close.

The market, however, was extremely buoyant in early trades as the Sensex after opening 100 points above its last close at 15,614 surpassed 15,800 to touch an intra-day high at 15,825. While selective selling pared the gains by mid-noon trades, the Sensex eventually slipped below in late noon trades on extended correction and touched the day's low at 15,568. The Sensex finally ended with a small loss of 10 points at 15,604, while the Nifty virtually ended flat at 4,518.

The market breadth was negative. Of the 2,761 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,743 stocks declined, 963 stocks advanced and 55 stocks ended unchanged. The sectoral indices displayed mixed trend on the BSE.

Dragging the market from higher levels NTPC tumbled 3.26% at Rs186. Maruti Udyog dropped 2.95% at Rs866, ACC shed 1.94% at Rs1,106, Cipla moved down 1.71% at Rs172 and Bajaj Auto lost 1.65% at Rs2,376. Wipro, Hind Utilities, Reliance Communication, SBI, Grasim, and Mahindra were down around 1% each. ICICI Bank, however, bucked the downtrend and advanced 2.64% at Rs899, HDFC Bank gained 1.33% at Rs1,228, Larsen & Turbo soared 0.90% at Rs2,592 and ITC gained 0.73% at Rs180 respectively.

Select PSU stocks witnessed selling pressure. Bongaingaon Refinery dropped 4.56% at Rs57.60, HMT lost 3.93% at Rs64.70, RCFL declined 3.38% at Rs52.85, BoI moved down by 3.32% at Rs241 and UBI was down 3.10% at Rs152.50.

Over 4.03 crore shares of Indo Wind traded on the BSE followed by IDFC (2.73 crore shares), ISPAT (24.06 crore shares), IFCI (1.45 lakh shares), IKF Techno (1.15 crore shares ) and Vishal Export (1.15 crore shares).

Market may remain firm

The near term trigger for global markets is US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on 18 September 2007. There are hopes that the US Federal Reserve will cut the fed funds rate by at least a quarter percentage point on 18 September 2007. An aggressive rate cut by the Fed in the coming months, will inject liquidity which in turn may lead to a surge in inflow by FIIs in emerging markets including India.

Meanwhile, strong domestic liquidity will support the market at declines. Domestic private insurance firms have been channelising money raised through unit-linked insurance plans (with a high weightage for equities).

The barometer index BSE Sensex is 265.05 points away from all-time high of 15,868.85 it had struck on 24 July 2007

The market will be keenly watching developments on the political front as the government wants the Indo-US nuclear deal to go through. While the operationaslisation of the Indo-US deal has been put on hold by the government pending the findings of a committee, it cannot be stalled forever. A flashpoint may come sooner or later. The four Communist parties have 60 members of parliament (MPs) in the 545-member lower house of parliament. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government could fall or be reduced to a minority if the Left withdraws support.

Yet, analysts reckon that political turmoil arising from nuke deal will not impact India’s basic economic fundamentals though some infrastructure projects may get delayed. India’s economy is expected to post strong growth for a long period of time mainly due to favourable demographics.

Further, a US recession is unlikely to impact India in a big way given that the Indian economy is driven by domestic demand. Exports to US account for just about 2% of India’s GDP.

Small-cap, mid-cap shares hog limelight

The market ended flat in most of the trading sessions last week. The market absorbed global as well as domestic shocks in the week. Trading had begun in the backdrop of a sell-off in US stocks on Friday, 7 September 2007, after data showed US firms cut 4,000 jobs last month. The market also largely shrugged off weak industrial production data for July 2007 and a renewed threat from the left parties over nuclear deal before. Sensex rose in 2 out of the 5 trading sessions in the week.

BSE Sensex rose 13.38 points or 0.09% to settle at 15,603.80 in the week ended 14 September 2007. The S&P CNX Nifty rose 8.5 points or 0.18% to 4,518 in the week.

Small-cap and mid-cap shares were in demand. BSE Small-Cap index rose 139.24 points or 1.65% to 8,572.76 in the week. BSE Mid-Cap index rose 43.35 points or 0.66% or to 6,897 in the week.

The other sectoral indices BSE Auto index (down 4.36 points or 0.09% to 4,885.47) and BSE IT index (down 210.56 points or 4.52% to 4,659.70) edged lower. While, BSE Bankex ( up 40.42 points or 0.5% to 8,136.11), BSE Capital Goods index ( rose 0.65% or 88.32 points to 13,701.56), BSE Realty index ( up 502.48 points or 6.73% to 7,972.75) edged higher.

The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 6.41 points or 0.04% at 15,596.83 on Monday, 10 September 2007. The market had opened on a weak note following a sell-off in US stocks on Friday, 7 September 2007, after data showed US firms cut 4,000 jobs last month, the first such decline since August 2003. It recovered all the lost ground to post marginal gains, on strong buying in index pivotals, especially Reliance Industries. However IT pivotals stayed weak, on fears of US economy heading towards recession. The market breadth was strong on BSE in contrast to initial weakness.

The BSE 30-share Sensex shed 54.06 points or 0.35% at 15,542.77 on Tuesday, 11 September 2007. The market saw trend reversal from initial firmness to end in the red. The sentiment turned nervous ahead of a key meeting of the government with left parties on the Indo-US nuclear deal. The market had opened on an upbeat note tracking steady global markets. A bout of volatility was witnessed in the second half of the day’s trading. Domestic market underperformed its global peers.

The BSE 30-share Sensex declined 37.41 points or 0.24% at 15,505.36 on Wednesday, 12 September 2007. The market saw trend reversal from initial strength to end in the red. The market moved between positive and negative zone throughout the day. It first slipped in negative zone in mid-afternoon trade as data showing slower growth in industrial production raised worries about economic slowdown from a robust growth in the year ended March 2007.

The BSE 30-share Sensex gained 109.08 points or 0.7% to 15,614.44 on Thursday, 13 September 2007. The market broke its two-day loosing streak to post good gains, led by steady buying support for index pivotals. Turnover was high. Asian markets were mixed while European markets were trading lower.

The BSE Sensex declined 10.64 points or 0.07% to 15,603.80 on Friday, 14 September 2007. The market saw a sharp trend reversal as global credit worries resurfaced after a British mortgage lender issued profit warning, dragging all the European bourses which opened after Indian market, lower. The market had opened on an upbeat note tracking rally in US markets overnight.

IT pivotals edged lower after data released on Friday, 7 September 2007, showed US payrolls shrank in August 2007 for the first time in four years, raising fears that the world's largest economy was headed into a recession. They gained some ground on Thursday after the government extended the date for corporates to pay advance tax with respect to Fringe Benefit Tax liability, to 15 December 2007. The first installment was originally to be paid by 15 June and the second installment by 15 September.

India’s third largest software services exporter Wipro declined 5.88% to Rs 450.25. Other IT pivotals Satyam Computers (down 4.24% to Rs 430.70), Infosys Technologies (down 4.12% to Rs 1830.30), and TCS (down 5.08% to Rs 1022.60) also declined. IT companies derive over 50% of their revenue from exports from US.

NTPC, the nation’s largest power generation company, declined 0.8% to Rs 185.65. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Bharat Heavy Electricals to form a joint venture company. It would enable them work jointly to complement their respective strength and to carry out engineering procurement and construction (EPC) activities in the power sector.

World’s sixth largest steel producer in terms of total steel production Tata Steel gained 2.25% to Rs 703.55 on reports that it is looking at building a 5-million tonne steel plant in South Africa. The company denied the report.

India’s largest private sector company by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 3.73% to Rs 2034.50 . It struck an all time high of Rs 2069.50 on Friday, 14 September 2007. It reached an agreement to acquire assets of Hualon, a leading polyester producer in Malaysia. This acquisition will bestow RIL with more than 7% global market share in polyester fibre and yarn.

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee cleared Reliance Industries' (RIL) gas pricing formula on Wednesday, 12 September 2007. RIL had proposed to price gas at $4.33 per million British thermal unit (mBtu) or Rs 187.84 per mBtu. The EGoM made a few minor changes in RIL's gas pricing from the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin by lowering the fuel price by 8.32% to $ 4.20 per mBtu or Rs 172.20 per mBtu at the prevailing Indian rupee-US dollar exchange rate. RIL is reportedly entering shipbuilding and dredging business with two separate companies. It plans to invest around $1 billion each in two companies.

India’s second largest listed power utility company in terms of revenue Reliance Energy (REL) surged 3.79% to Rs 882.65. As per reports, Supreme Court has allowed the company to bid for the Rs 2600 crore Mumbai sea link project.

HDFC (up 4.07% to Rs 2216.85), SBI (up 2.06% to Rs 1,653.55), Bajaj Auto (up 2.26% to Rs 2,376.75) were the other major gainers from the sensex pack.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services settled at Rs 977.45 on the BSE on its debut on 11 September 2007, a premium of 18.47% over IPO price of Rs 825 (the top end of the Rs 725 - 825 per share price band). The scrip debuted at Rs 999, a premium of 21.09% over the IPO price.

Indowind Energy debuted at Rs 80.25, a premium 23.46% over the IPO price of Rs 65- the top end the Rs 55-65 per share price band. It settled at Rs 114.05 on the BSE, at a premium of 75.46% over IPO price of 65.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has initiated adjudication proceedings against 20 private and public sector companies for non-compliance with Clause 49 of the listing agreement. Clause 49 deals with corporate governance by companies listed on the exchanges. According to a Sebi release, of the 20 companies, five are public sector firms against whom proceedings have been launched for non-compliance with provisions relating to board composition.

Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on 11 September 2007, allowed foreign portfolio investors (FIIs) to submit foreign sovereign securities with "AAA" rating as collateral for derivatives trading. Initially, US government securities will be accepted as collateral.

India's exports of soyameal fell 80% to about 46,000 tonnes in August 2007 from 2.3 lakh tonnes in August 2006. The decline is due to low crushing and inadequate availability of ships because of demand from other commodities.

According to a statement by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic car sales in India improved 18% to 98,893 units in August 2007 over 83,864 units in August 2006. The rise was due to launch of new models and aggressive marketing. Sales of motorcycle fell 11% to 418,702 units in August 2007 from 470,955 units in August 2006. Sales of commercial vehicles (CVs) moved up 2.23% to 36,409 units in August 2007 compared with 35,268 units in August 2006.

The growth in Index of Industrial Production (IIP) dipped 7.1% in July 2007 compared with 13.17% in July 2006. The decline in growth is due to inventory problems and floods.

Prakash Karat, general secretary, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), in a public meeting in Vishakapatnam on Saturday (8 September 2007) strongly criticised the nuke deal as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has not mentioned it in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP). Hence, the UPA has to choose between the CMP or its allegiance to the US, he said.

The chief of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) Prakash Karat renewed the threat by making a strong statement on Thursday, 13 September 2007, on ending support to the UPA coalition if it operationalied the nuclear deal with the United States.

NSE has decided to add realty major Unitech in S&P CNX Nifty in place of IPCL. The change will take effect from 5 October 2007. Due to the proposed merger of IPCL in Reliance Industries, trading in IPCL will get suspended and therefore the change in the index composition.

Annual inflation growth declined to a two-year low of 3.52% in the week ended 1 September 2007 from 3.79% in the week ended 25 August 2007, due to falling prices of pulses, vegetables, condiments and spices. Wholesale price index (WPI) stood at 5.34% in the corresponding week a year ago.

High turnover day

The market saw a sharp trend reversal as global credit worries resurfaced after a British mortgage lender issued profit warning, dragging all the European bourses which opened after Indian market, lower. Turnover on BSE was healthy and crossed Rs 6,000 crore mark.

The market had opened on an upbeat note tracking rally in US markets overnight. Also strong Asian markets today had boosted the sentiment in early trade.

Growth in inflation based on the wholesale-price-index dropped to 3.5% for the week ended 1 September 2007, as against 3.79% the earlier week.

The BSE 30-share Sensex slipped 10.64 points or 0.07% at 15,603.80. It opened with an upward gap of 99.22 points to 15,713.66. At the day's high of 15,824.65, the Sensex had gained 210.21 points for the day. At day’s low of 15,568.36, it had lost 46.08 points for the day. It oscillated 256.29 points in the day.

The Sensex is 265.05 points away from all time high of 15,868.85 it had struck on 24 July 2007

The S&P CNX Nifty slipped 10.95 points or 0.24% at 4,518. The Nifty September 2007 futures settled at 4514, a discount of 4 points as compared to spot closing.

The market breadth which was strong on BSE during the first half of the day, turned weak later: 1753 shares declined as compared to 999 that advanced, while 61 remained unchanged. This is in sharp contrast to market breadth of morning session when 1576 shares advanced, 502 declined and 45 remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.72% to 6,897.00. It hit an all time high of 7,019.64 earlier today, 14 September 2007. The BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.76% to 8,572.76. It hit a record high of 8,744.61 earlier today, 14 September 2007.

The total turnover on BSE crossed the Rs 6,000 crore mark today. It amounted to Rs 6,120 crore as compared to Rs 5,286.91 crore on Thursday, 13 September 2007.

The NSE’s F&O turnover was Rs 47,177.37 crore as compared to Rs 41,758.23 crore on Thursday, 13 September 2007.

Sectoral indices on BSE showed mixed trend. BSE Bankex (up 0.67% at 8,136.11), BSE Realty index (up 1.59% to 7,972.75), BSE Metal Index (up 0.46% at 11,979.96), BSE FMCG Index (up 0.10% at 2,072.81), BSE Oil and Gas Index (up 0.10% at 8,387.22), and outperformed the Sensex.

However, BSE Capital Goods Index (down 0.16% at 13,701.56), BSE IT Index (down 0.75% at 4,449.14), BSE Auto Index (down 1.09% at 4,885.47), BSE PSU index (down 1.31% to 7,300.00), BSE Consumer Durables index (down 0.67% to 4,567.37), BSE TecK index (down 0.92% to 3,529.85) and BSE Health Care Index (down 0.77% at 3,665.56), were underperformers.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 19 slipped while the rest gained.

Banking and financial shares dominated gainers throughout the day on sustained demand, boosted by latest data, which showed fall in inflation. India’s largest private sector bank in terms of net profit, ICICI Bank rose 2.64% to Rs 907, off its day’s high of Rs 922.90. 8.60 lakh shares were traded on the counter on BSE. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack

Other banking shares also gained on continued buying support. HDFC Bank (up 1.11% to Rs 1226), Kotak Bank (up 0.49% to Rs 776.25), Karnataka Bank (up 3.52% to Rs 210) advanced

India’s largest private sector engineering company by sales Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 1.05% to Rs 2596 after its ECC division in consortium with Outotec GmbH, Germany bagged a Rs 762 crore Sinter Plant order, from Steel Authority of India (SAIL). L&T’s share in the order is Rs 639.99 crore and euro 22.08 million for Outotec.

India’s largest private sector entity by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) struck an all time high of Rs 2069.50 in intra-day trades. It settled 0.35% higher to Rs 2033.50 on 6.78 lakh shares. RIL is reportedly entering shipbuilding and dredging business with two separate companies. It plans to invest around $1 billion each in two companies and has begun talks with international majors for a strategic tie-up for the dredging business.

India’s top power generation company by sales, NTPC slumped 3.10% to Rs 185.95 on 10.50 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack.

Maruti Udyog (down 2.90% to Rs 866.20), ACC (down 1.75% to Rs 1109), and Wipro (down 1.74% to Rs 449.50), were the other losers from Sensex pack.

Infrastructure Development Finance Company slumped 4.25% to Rs 129.55 on huge volumes of 2.73 crore shares on BSE. It was the top traded counter on BSE with total turnover of Rs 325.75 crore

India Cements rose 1.06% to Rs 275.45 on huge volumes of 81.42 lakh shares, after a large block deal of 64.10 lakh shares was struck in the counter on BSE at Rs 277 per share in opening trade. It was the second most traded counter on BSE with total turnover of Rs 225.24 crore

Other turnover toppers were Reliance Industries (Rs 139.19 crore), India Infoline (Rs 132.37 crore), and Reliance Capital (Rs 119.91 crore).

Among the side counters, Milkfood (up 20% to Rs 480), Jindal Worldwide (up 19.98% to Rs 157.05), and Reliance Industrial Infrastructures (up 18.63% to Rs 601.15), surged.

Safari Industries (down 17.38% to Rs 38.50), Deccan Chronical Holdings (down 13.06% to Rs 195) and Scooters India (down 10% to Rs 31.20), slipped

Indowind Energy debuted at Rs 80.25, a premium 23.46% over the IPO price of Rs 65- the top end the Rs 55-65 per share price band. It settled at Rs 114.05 on the BSE, at a premium of 75.46% over its IPO price.

Escorts (down 4.24% to Rs 102.70), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 3.49% to Rs 33.15), and Bongaigaon Refineries (down 4.14% to Rs 57.85), slipped after the National Stock Exchange (NSE) barred further F&O positions as 95% of marketwide limit was reached yesterday, 13 September 2007.

SREI Infrastructure Finance surged 7.67% to Rs 107.40 after a block deal of 25.2 lakh shares, or 2.31% of SREI Infrastructure Finance's equity, changed hands at Rs 102.5 per share on BSE.

Alok Industries jumped 5.68% to Rs 73.50. Earlier on 30 August 2007, the board of approval of the special economic zones (SEZs) approved Alok Infrastructure's proposal to set up a textiles SEZ at Silvassa, Gujarat. Alok Infrastructure is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alok Industries

Ispat Industries flared up 5.26% to Rs 20. As per recent reports, the company is planning to invest about Rs 10,000 crore within five years to ramp up domestic production, and is also planning to expand overseas through capacity expansion and backward integration.

Puravankara Projects rose 3.45% to Rs 374.35. As per recent reports, the company has tied up with Sobha Developers to bid for the Rs 9,250-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai.

Elpro International surged 10% at Rs 336.80 on BSE on reports that it is paying back shareholders a premium of Rs 173 per share for Rs 10 share to reduce paid-up capital by 25%. The company has an equity capital of Rs 3.56 crore.

Aftek surged 12.10% to Rs 82.50 on high volumes of 52.47 lakh shares. Yesterday the stock surged 20% to 73.60 after Seekport AG in which company's unit holds 24.75% stake, was listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Based on the bid price of 4.75 Euro per share, the total valuation of the company works out to Euro 475 million. Earlier, Arexera had acquired a stake in Seekport AG by transfer of technology.

Ess Dee Aluminium surged 3.82% to Rs 495.10 on reports that the company had joined the race to acquire the packaging business of the Montreal-based aluminium giant Alcan. The Mumbai-headquartered Ess Dee is the second domestic contender, the other being Essel Propack. The deal size is expected to be around $1 billion (Rs 4,000 crore), or 1.2 times the turnover of the target company

House of Pearl Fashions jumped 4.87% to Rs 278.05 after Reliance Mutual Fund bought nearly 3 lakh shares of the company in a bulk deal on the BSE yesterday, 13 September 2007 at a price of Rs 255 each. Foreign fund Morgan Stanley and Company International offloaded 3,94,748 lakh equity shares at a price of Rs 255.14 each.

CCL Products soared 7.39 % to Rs 279.90 after Reliance Mutual Fund bought close to 9 lakh shares of the company in a bulk deal at Rs 250 each on the BSE yesterday, 13 September 2007. Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius sold 4,28,000 shares of the company at Rs 250.40 each.

Era Constructions lost 2.46% to Rs 564.05. Its unit Era Infra Engineering bagged a Rs 285 crore contract from Aravali Power Company.

Jet Airways (India) gained 0.45% to Rs 900 on reports that it secured government approval for flying to select destinations in the Gulf region.

Unity Infraprojects declined 2.10% to Rs 598 despite announcing that it had received Rs 134.15-crore orders from Anuttam Developers for constructing a shopping centre at Koregaon Park, Pune. This is to be completed within 17 months.

Hinduja TMT slumped 5.16% to Rs 456 on turning Rs 10 per share ex-dividend from today. It has face vale of Rs 10 per share.

Monsanto India slipped 1.05% to Rs 1385. Its board approved selling its sunflower seeds business to the Indian arm of Belgian Devgen. Monsanto India said during market hours today, 14 September 2007, that its board had approved selling its sunflower seeds business to the Indian arm of Belgian Devgen for $3.91 million. The deal also includes Mosanto's inventory at cost, the company said in a statement.

European markets were trading lower on new worries over financing for banks, after mortgage lender Northern Rock issued a profit warning and tapped the Bank of England for funding. Key benchmark indices in United Kingdom (down 2.19% to 6,224.60), France (down 1.31% to 5,493.24), and Germany (down 1.04% to 7,457.26), declined.

All the Asian markets advanced today, 14 September 2007 boosted by strong US markets overnight. Japan's Nikkei (up 1.94% at 16,127.42), Hang Seng (up 1.47% at 24,898.11), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 1.17% at 9,031.63), China’s Shanghai Composite (up 0.73% to 5,312.82), Straits Times (up 0.91% at 3,536.40) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 1.19% at 1,870.02) edged higher.

US shares surged yesterday, 13 September 2007 led by strong gains among the blue chips and mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., which signalled a possible thawing in the credit markets with the announcement it had lined up additional financing. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 133.23 points, or 1.00%, to 13,424.88.

Broader stock indicators also advanced, though more modestly. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12.39 points, or 0.84%, to 1,483.95, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rose 8.99 points, or 0.35%, to 2,601.06.

Crude oil held near $80 a barrel on Friday, 14 September 2007 within sight of record-high levels as a hurricane knocked out US Gulf refineries, deepening supply woes already caused by lower crude stocks in the world's top consumer. US crude dropped 32 cents to $79.77 a barrel, after hitting record of $80.20 a barrel, on Thursday, 13 September 2007. London Brent crude slipped 22 cents to $76.90 a barrel.

US Market stages a strong rally

General Motors and Countrywide Financials help Dow make triple digit gain

Countrywide Financials and General Motors provided a good boost to US stocks today, Thursday, 13 September, 2007. Crude prices closed today above the $80/barrel mark for the first ever time. But market witnessed a strong rally today which was also powered by a big bounce in financial stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial Average closed higher by 133.23 points at 13,424.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 8.99 points at 2,601.06. S&P 500 finished higher by 12.39 points at 1,483.95.

Twenty-six out of thirty Dow stocks ended in green today. Mc Donalds, GM and Merck led the group of Dow winners.

McDonald's led the Dow's winning effort as investors showed extreme buying interest into the stock after the company announced a 50% increase in its annual cash dividend to $1.50 per share.

Other than this, GM and Merck helped Dow stage a good rally. General Motors and Merck were off to a good start after being upgraded to Buy at Citigroup and Banc of America, respectively. GM shares soared by 10%. Merck shares were up by marginal 0.5%.

Countrywide secures an additional $12 billion to help itself

Investors got some encouraging piece of news today from Countrywide Financials. Stocks rallied right out of the gate after Countrywide said that the company was able to secure an additional $12 billion in borrowing capacity through new and existing credit facilities. The announcement also gave Countrywide's stock a much needed lift.

Investors were also cheered by jobless claims data ahead of the opening bell. The Labor Department reported its count of Americans making initial applications for jobless benefits climbed 4,000 for the week ended 8 Sept. putting the total number of first-time claims at 319,000.

Countrywide's rally helped prompt a rally in overall financial stocks. All major financial stocks, eg, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, JP Morgan were up by 2-5% respectively.

Barring Wipro Technologies and WNS Holdings, all Indian ADRs closed in the green today. Satyam and Patni Computers were the top two winners gaining 1.8% and 1.2% respectively.

Crude ends above $80 for the first ever time

Crude oil future prices rose today and reached an all time new high. Crude prices closed above $80/barrel after Hurricane Humberto shut three refineries in Texas. Prices also bore the brunt of yesterday’s report by energy Department which showed that crude supplies dropped more than 7 million barrels and motor gasoline inventories fell a sixth week in a row.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for October delivery closed at $80.09/barrel (higher by $0.18/barrel or 0.3%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $80.20, the highest intraday price since trading began in 1983. Prices are up 25% from a year ago.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 1.2 billion, and advancing stocks beat declining issues 10 to 7. At the Nasdaq, nearly 1.7 billion shares were traded, and advancers overtook declining stocks ran even.

For tomorrow, there will be a number of economic reports to dictate market momentum. The latest mix of imports and exports and respective prices will be released in the Current Account report and Import and Export Prices report. Retail Sales reports (giving the latest in consumer spending) and the Industrial Production report (giving the nation's production levels and resource utilization) will be released first. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey (giving an assessment of business expectations) will also hit the wires.

HPCL, BPCL, Telecom, Cement Sector

HPCL, BPCL, Telecom, Cement Sector

Pre Market Watch

Indian market is likely to have a positive opening due to strong positive global cues. On Thursday, the Indian markets ended on a positive note, as BSE Sensex closed higher by 109.08 points at 15,614.44 while Nifty closed up by 32.1 points at 4,528.95. We expect the market to trade higher but within a range during the trading session.

On Thursday, the US market closed in green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew by 133.23 points to close at 13,424.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 8.99 points to close at 2,601.06. The S&P 500 index closed up by 12.39 points at 1,483.95.

Indian ADRs ended in green. In technology sector, Satyam computers grew by (1.84%) along with Patni computers by (1.43%,) Infosys by (1.32%) while Wipro slipped by (0.29%). In banking sector, HDFC bank and ICICI banks advanced by (0.95% )and (0.27%) respectively. MTNL and VSNL grew by (1.12%) and (0.05%) respectively.

The major stock markets in Asia are trading strong. Japan''s Nikkei trading firm by 179.26 points to trade at 16,000.45. Hang Seng grew by 261.38 points to trade at 24,798.40. Singapore Strait times trading higher by 44.06 points at 3,548.46. South Korea,s Seoul composite is trading up by 19.63 points at 1,867.65.

Today, Nifty has support at 4,500 and resistance at 4,590 and BSE Sensex has support at 15,520 and resistance at 15,844.

Market to head higher

The market is expected to head higher due to strong cues from global markets. US stocks rallied overnight while Asian markets opened higher today, 14 September 2007.

The wholesale price index (WPI) data for the week ending 1 September 2007 is due today 14 September 2007. Annual inflation growth fell 3.79% in the week ending 25 August 2007 as against 3.94% in the week ending 18 August 2007. WPI was at 5.27% in the corresponding week last year.

Asian markets advanced today, 14 September 2007 after US stocks rallied overnight. Japan's Nikkei (up 1.13% at 16,000.45), Hang Seng (up 1.07% at 24,798.40), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 0.57% at 8,978.30), Straits Times (up 1.26% at 3,548.46) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 1.06% at 1,867.65) edged higher.

US shares surged yesterday, 13 September 2007 led by strong gains among the blue chips and mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., which signalled a possible thawing in the credit markets with the announcement it had lined up additional financing. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 133.23 points, or 1.00%, to 13,424.88.

Broader stock indicators also advanced, though more modestly. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12.39 points, or 0.84%, to 1,483.95, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rose 8.99 points, or 0.35%, to 2,601.06.

Crude oil held near $80 a barrel on Friday, 14 September 2007 within sight of record-high levels as a hurricane knocked out US Gulf refineries, deepening supply woes already caused by lower crude stocks in the world's top consumer. US crude dropped 32 cents to $79.77 a barrel, after hitting record of $80.20 a barrel, on Thursday, 13 September 2007. London Brent crude slipped 22 cents to $76.90 a barrel.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth a net Rs 6.29 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 35.91 crore on Thursday, 13 September 2007.

The BSE 30-share Sensex gained 109.08 points or 0.70% at 15,614.44, on Thursday, 13 September 2007. The Sensex is 254.41 points away from all time high of 15,868.85 hit on 24 July 2007

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 32.10 points or 0.71% at 4,528.95, on Thursday, 13 September 2007.

Market may rise on easing global credit conditions

Asian indices rose in early trades on speculation that global credit conditions are easing after the largest US mortgage lender secured new financing and the local indices may advance further tracking the same. Strong investors' appetite for heavyweight and mid-cap stocks could see the market to extend winning streak. However, caution should be maintained as higher bouts of intra-day volatility is likely to persist. Among the local indices, the Nifty could test higher levels at 4,550 and breaching upon this may test 4620 and has a support at 4500. The Sensex on the downside may slip to15,250 and may face resistance at 15,700.

Major US indices rose Thursday, as investors eyed upbeat news on the largest US mortgage lenders and continued to bet that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week. While the Dow Jones flared up by 133 points at 13,425, the Nasdaq moved up by nine points to close at 2,601.

Except Wipro all the Indian ADRs traded firm on the US bourses. Satyam Computer led the pack with gains of over 1.84% while, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy's, Tata Motors, MTNL, Infosys, Satyam, Patni Computer and VSNL closed with the gains of 0.5-1% each.

International crude oil prices rose over $80 mark, with Nymex light crude oil for October delivery gained by 18 cents to close at $80.09 a barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for December delivery slipped by $2.80 to settle at $717.90 an ounce.

IVRCL

IVRCL

Morning Call - Sep 14 2007

Market Grape Wine :

In House :

Nifty at a supp of 4501 & 4478 levels with resistance at 4550 & 4582 levels .

Buy : Intraday : Educomp above 2971 target of 3080 s/l of 2945 levels .

Buy : Intraday : Cummins above 412 target 423 s/l of 408

Out House :

Markets at a support of 15515 & 15465 levels with resistance at 15696 & 15786 levels .

Buy : RIL & RelCap

Buy : REL, JpHydro & NTPC

Buy : IFCI , TTML , TFCI & NagarFert

Buy : Hanun ,& Kajaria

Buy : HOCL , Titan & CenturyTex

Buy : IolBroad & ABAN

Buy : Tisco & ACC

Buy : Welsguj & Gitanjali & Aptech

Dark Horse : RIL , Kotak , NTPC , IFCI , Hanun , Sintex , HOCL , Aptech , Everon & Jphydro

TGIF : Thank God Its Friday : Markets to hit all time high book profits as 18 a crucial day for Markets .

Bullet for the Day : Everonn , Jphydro & MIC

Daily Technicals, Futures, Outlook - Sep 14 2007

Daily Technicals, Futures, Outlook - Sep 14 2007

Grey Market - Dhanus, Kouton, Consolidated, Circuit Systems, Allied Computer

Power Grid Corporation 44 to 52 16 to 18

Dhanus Tech 280 to 295 115 to 120

Koutons Retail 370 to 415 105 to 110

Indowind Energy 55 to 65 Discount

Consolidated Construction 460 to 510 50 to 60

Circuit Systems (India) Ltd 35 NA

Allied Computer 12 0

Trading Calls

Nifty (4529) Supp 4496 Res 4570

Buy CESC (482) SL 477
Target 492, 495

Buy Aban (3045) SL 3020
Target 3100, 3110

Buy IDBI (134) SL 131
Target 140, 141

Sell Bharti (839) SL 845
Target 828, 825

Sell Amtek Auto (351) SL 356 Target 342, 340

Fresh Friday…enjoy the start

You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.

Fresh ingredients seem to be lacking for the market's upmove. Neverthless, the bulls seem to have found their feet again after a sluggish start to the week. Even though the Men in Blue (Indian cricket team) didn't get to show their much-vaunted prowess in the T20 World Cup, on the stock market it was a different story.

Today, we expect the bulls to end the week on a firm note owing to strong global cues. On the whole, the market is likely to be more or less stable with intermittent bouts of buying and selling. Barring usual profit booking, the market should continue its upward march for another week, albeit at a slower pace.

Yesterday, the bulls were firing on all cylinders, backed by a firm trend in Asian market and optimism that the Indian economy remains on a strong wicket despite a slight slippage in July. The Sensex notched up a ton (100 points) and the small-cap and mid-cap shares too joined the party (up 0.8% each), indicating a broader participation among investors. The market breadth was positive and the volume was not bad either, though it needs to show improvement if the rally is to be sustained. FIIs remain committed to the long-term India story, though yesterday they didn't shop much.

A stupendous response to the Power Grid IPO shows that the appetite for quality Indian paper remains strong as ever, both among local and overseas investors. Another positive sign is that the CMIE, an independent economic think tank, has raised its GDP forecast for FY08, from 9% to 9.1%. The RBI is also confident of an 8.5% growth, so is the Government.

The only worry is that most of this good news is already in the price. In short, the market needs fresh set of positive triggers which may come in the form of encouraging words from the Fed in the coming days and better than expected earnings growth in the second quarter from local companies.

US blue chips rallied on Thursday, as investors cheered upbeat news on General Motors, McDonald's and Countrywide Financial and continued to bet that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

Countrywide, the largest US mortgage company, rose the most in seven years after analysts said it can pay its debts. GM clocked its steepest gain since April 2006 on prospects that its workers will agree to cost cuts. McDonald's rose to a record on plans to boost dividend.

Shares of financial companies contributed the most to the rally, helped by a Fed report showing declines in the commercial paper market slowed. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is up 2.1% this week.

The S&P 500 gained 12.39 points, or 0.8%, to 1,483.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 133.23 points, or 1%, to 13,424.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 8.99 points, or 0.4%, to 2,601.06.

US light crude oil for October delivery rose 18 cents to settle at $80.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a record closing high. Oil prices briefly hit an all-time session high of $80.20 a barrel earlier.

In currency trading, the dollar fell to another record low versus the euro and inched higher against the yen. Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 4.46% from 4.41% late on Wednesday. COMEX gold for December delivery fell $2.80 to settle at $717.90 an ounce.

European stocks ended higher. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index climbed 0.9% to 372.41. The German DAX 30 closed up 0.8% at 7,535.97, while the French CAC 40 rose 1.1% to 5,565.97 and the UK's FTSE 100 added 0.9% to 6,363.90.

Latin American stocks rose. Mexico's IPC index climbed 0.8% to 30,302.23, retracing a 0.4% loss a day ago. Brazil's Bovespa surged 1.9% to 54,908.18. Chilean stocks were up 0.6% at 3,133.61 ahead of a rate decision by the country's central bank. Argentina's Merval rose 1.6% to 2,040.25.

In other emerging markets, the RTS index in Russia surged 1.7% to 1932 and the ISE National-30 index in Turkey was up 0.9% at 62,511.

Most Asian markets were trading higher this morning on hope that global credit conditions are easing after Countrywide Financial, the largest US mortgage lender, secured new financing.

The Nikkei in Tokyo was up 179 points at 16000 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 274 points to 24,811. The Kospi in Seoul advanced 20 points to 1867 and the Straits Times in Singapore was up 47 points at 3551.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and National Australia Bank led a rally in regional banks. Toyota and Nintendo led an advance among exporters after initial jobless claims in the US climbed less than forecast. BHP Billiton and Sumitomo Metal Mining rose after metals and crude oil prices jumped.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index rose 0.8% to 151.21 at 11:08 a.m. in Tokyo, paring this week's loss to 0.8%. All markets open for trading climbed, except China.

Markets ended with healthy gains as Bulls cheered value buying in the IT stocks. All the key sectoral indices except for the FMCG index ended in green. Even the Mid-Cap and the Small-Cap indices ended higher adding over 0.5% each. Realty stocks were the pick of the day after inclusion of construction major Unitech in Nifty-50 on 5th October. IT stocks were in limelight on back of value buying in this sector. The BSE 30-share benchmark Sensex gained 109 points to close at 15614. NSE Nifty ended 32 points higher to close at 4528.

Diamond Cables surged by over 2% to Rs360 after the company announced that they have secured orders for 2750 Transformers. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs374 and a low of Rs350 and recorded volumes of over 47,000 shares on NSE.

IPCA Labs ended flat at Rs688. The company announced that it has acquired Australian Dossier Registration Company. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs700 and a low of Rs681 and recorded volumes of over 5,000 shares on NSE.

Aurobindo Pharma edged higher by 0.6% to Rs617. The company announced that they have secures UK-MHRA Clearance for unit 1. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs624 and a low of Rs608 and recorded volumes of over 31,000 shares on NSE.

Dr Reddy’s Lab slipped 1% to Rs641. The company announced that they have received USFDA approval for Ranitidine (Zantac). The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs653 and a low of Rs639 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on NSE.

ABG Shipyard surged by over 3% to Rs618 after the South Asian nation's biggest shipbuilder outside government control said it plans to add four dockyards to repair vessels as demand for sea transport rises in the country. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs623 and a low of Rs599 and recorded volumes of over 45,000 shares on NSE.

Lupin gained by 2.5% to Rs610 after the company announced that they have won Ramipril product patent challenge at Federal circuit. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs615 and a low of Rs599 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on NSE.

BPCL gained by 0.2% to Rs310 after the oil refiner and Videocon Industries Ltd would acquire stake in a Brazilian oil exploration company owned by Canada's EnCana Corp. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs316 and a low of Rs306 and recorded volumes of over 2,00,000 shares on NSE.

Banking stocks were in limelight after RBI’s Deputy Governor Leeladhar said that Indian Bank’s are not affected by US Subprime. SBI gained by 3% to Rs1674, HDFC Bank advanced by 2.6% to Rs1213. However, ICICI Bank pared gained on back of profit booking, the scrip was down by 0.2% to Rs884.

Cement stocks also ended with smart gains. ACC surged by over 2.5% to Rs1128, Kesoram Industries gained 1.7% to Rs537, Ambuja Cement advanced by 1.7% to Rs144 and JP Associates added 1.2% to Rs959.

Power stocks traded firm for third straight session. Tata power gained 2.2% to Rs750, PFC surged by over 3.5% to Rs199 and NTPC added 0.8% to Rs191.

Realty stocks were also trading firm on back of gains in the index heavyweight, Unitech surged by over 7% to Rs280 after The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will replace IPCL in the NIFTY with real estate major Unitech, with effect from October 5. Mahindra Gesco edged higher by 7% to Rs563 and Parsvnath gained 1% to Rs322.

IT stocks were back in action after being on the side lines. Satyam Computer gained by 1.6% to Rs434, Wipro was up by 1% to Rs456, Infosys advanced by 1% to Rs1834 and Tech Mahindra surged by 2.1% to Rs1309

Stocks in News:

United Phosphorus' Board will meet today, to consider raising of further resources to finance capital expenditure and for expansion of business.

IMP Powers will consider placement of instruments convertible into equity shares to promoters and institutions.

Meghmani Organics could gain on reports that it is looking at acquiring an agro chemical company in Latin America.

Helios & Matheson is also looking at an acquisition in the $50-100mn range, says a financial daily.

Vyapar Industries will consider the proposal of issue of convertible warrants on preferential basis.

M&M is likely to be in action amid reports that it has pulled out of the race to buy Ford's luxury brands - Jaguar and Land Rover.

L&T may also attract some attention as it has reportedly tied up with Godrej Properties for the Dharavi project.

Oil PSUs will be in focus amid growing talk of a fuel price hike.

Cement companies will also hog the limelight as a newspaper report says local companies may go in for a price hike of Rs3-5 per bag.

Godfrey Phillips is another stock to keep an eye on amid reports that US-based Philip Morris is likely to buy out the KK Modi Group's stake in the company.

Fund Activity:

FIIs were net buyers of Rs62.9mn (provisional) in the cash segment on Thursday and the local institutions pulled out Rs359.1mn. In the F&O segment, foreign funds were net buyers of Rs5.26bn.

On Wednesday, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs2.82bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were net buyers of Rs733mn on the same day.

Major Bulk Deals:

Citigroup has sold Aptech; Reliance MF has bought CCL Products while Citigroup and Bear Stearns have sold it; Bear Stearns has picked up Ganesh Forgings; Citigroup and Bear Stearns have purchased Karuturi Networks; Lotus Global has sold Kashyap Tech; Morgan Stanley has sold Nagarjuna Constructions; CLSA has bought NIIT while Lehman Bros has sold it; Reliance MF has picked up Pearl Fashion while Morgan Stanley has sold the stock; Merrill Lynch has sold Punj Lloyd; Bear Stearns has sold Royal Orchid Hotels while Sundaram MF has bought it; Morgan Stanley has sold SRF; Lehman Bros has picked up Triveni Engineering; Lotus Global has purchased Vyapar Industries; BNP Paribas has bought XL Telecom.

Upper Circuit

MIC Electronic, Bayer Corp, Marksans, Aftek, Tourism Finance, Bag Film, Aarti Industries, Karuturi Network, Ion Exchange and BF Utilities.

Lower Circuit:

Carol Info and Usher Agro .