Market extends gains on falling crude oil prices

Renewed buying in interest rate sensitive stocks banking and realty shares pushed the market higher for the fifth consecutive day. Positive global cues and further decline in crude oil prices boosted investor sentiments.

Buying was broad based, yet, software shares remained subdued throughout the session. Construction and multiplex shares soared on fresh buying interest.

As per provisional data released by the stock exchanges after trading hours, foreign funds today, 11 August 2008, bought shares worth a net Rs 280.61 crore. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 505.30 crore.

The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 336.10 points or 2.22% to 15,503.92. The index rose 352.89 points at day’s high of 15,520.71 hit in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex rose 200.15 at day's low of 15,367.97, hit in afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 90.90 points or 2.01% to 4620.40. Nifty August 2008 futures were at 4631.20, a premium of 10.8 points as compared to spot closing.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.63% to 5,982.68 and the BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.25% to 7,271.35. Both the indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was strong on BSE with 1738 shares advancing as compared to 970 that declined. 68 shares remained unchanged.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 5237 crore as against Rs 5,432.28 crore on Friday, 8 August 2008. NSE’s futures & options turnover amounted to Rs 39699.28 crore as compared to Rs 47120.45 crore Friday, 8 August 2008.

The BSE Sensex is down 4783.07 points or 23.57% in the calendar year 2008 so far from its close of 20,286.99 on 31 December 2007. It is 5702.85 points or 26.89% away from its all-time high of 21,206.77 struck on 10 January 2008.

Jaiprakash Associates (up 7.68% at Rs 197.60), Reliance Infrastructure (up 6.86% at Rs 1102.40), and Maruti Suzuki (up 5.27% at Rs 715.50), were the major gainers from the Sensex pack.

Sterlite Industries (down 2.24% at Rs 624.90), TCS (down 1.06% at Rs 833.60), and Tata Steel (down 0.98% at Rs 644.80), were the leading losers from the Sensex pack.

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 3.36% at Rs 2,326.

Banking shares spurted on hopes that decline in crude oil prices may reduce interest rates. India’s largest private sector bank by market capitalisation ICICI Bank rose 5.74% at Rs 770.75. Canara Bank (up 7.39% at Rs 231.90), State Bank of India (up 4.65% at Rs 1592.60), and HDFC Bank (up 2.23% at Rs 1308.70), flared up. The BSE Bankex outperformed the Sensex, rising 4.16% to 7,702.35.

Realty shares soared. The BSE Realty index outperformed the Sensex, rising 5.27% to 5,799.37. Indiabulls Real Estate (up 13.73% at Rs 357.75), Unitech (up 6.27% at Rs 187.20), and DLF (up 3.57% at Rs 568.05), soared.

Construction shares rose. Hindustan Construction Company (up 8.67% at Rs 109), Gammon India (up 8.39% at Rs 233.10), Nagarjuna Construction Company (up 8.17% at Rs 142.30), Pratibha Industries (up 5.04% at Rs 228.20), and IVRCL Infrastructure (up 4.68% at Rs 330.10), soared.

Shares of multiplex cinema operators spurted on reports the Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif starrer 'Singh is Kinng' is this year’s biggest blockbuster- making record opening collections at the box office on Friday, 8 August 2008. Adlabs FIlms (up 0.97% at Rs 564.90), Pyramid Saimira (up 4.59% at Rs 165.15), PVR (up 14.83% at Rs 201.65), and Inox Leisure (up 19.23% at Rs 102.30), soared. The movie collections totaled Rs 8 crore on day one and the weekend collections are projected to be anywhere between Rs 28 to Rs 30 crore.

Low cost airliner SpiceJet soared 5.58% to Rs 30.25 on reports steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has evinced interest in acquiring the company.

Construction firm SAAG RR Infra was locked at upper limit if 5% at Rs 54.65 after the company bagged a Rs 280 crore order from Oil & Natural Gas Corporation for maintenance of its rigs.

Edible oil maker Sanwaria Agro Oils Infra was locked at upper limit if 10% at Rs 103.55 after the company said its board has recommended a liberal bonus issue in the ratio of 1:1.

IT stocks ended in negative terrain. The BSE IT index underperformed the Sensex, falling 0.10% to 3,882.07. TCS (down 1.06% at Rs 833.60), and Infosys Technologies (down 0.58% at Rs 1670.10), slipped. However, Wipro (up 1.07% at Rs 442.40), and Satyam Computer (up 0.38% at Rs 410.55), rose.

Reliance Natural Resources clocked a highest volume of 1.72 crore shares on BSE. Vishal Information Technologies (1.17 crore shares), Kashyap Technologies (1.05 crore shares), IFCI (99.20 lakh shares), and Cals Refineries (73.09 lakh shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.

Reliance Communication reported a highest turnover of Rs 239.52 crore on BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 238.59 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 221.21 crore), Vishal Information Technologies (Rs 216.79 crore) and Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 181.28 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.

European markets, which opened after Indian market, were trading firm. Key indices in UK, France and Germany were up 0.37% to 0.82%.

Asian market, which were mostly in green earlier, turned mixed as the session progressed. The key benchmark indices in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by between 0.64% to 1.99%. However, key indices in China, and Hong Kong were down by 0.12% to 5.21%.

US front-month crude oil settled on Friday, 8 August 2008, at $115.20 a barrel, down $4.82 for the day on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In post-settlement trading, crude tumbled more than $5 to $114.62 a barrel -- more than 20% below its NYMEX record high above $147 set in July 2008.

The Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will hold a board meeting on Wednesday, 13 August 2008 to review FII regulations, where it may revisit the norms relating to participatory notes and securities lending and borrowing mechanism.

The government will tomorrow, 12 August 2008, release industrial production data for June 2008. Industrial production grew at the slowest pace in more than six years in May 2008, at 3.8%, as against 10.6% in the same month of 2007, with manufacturing showing signs of acute deceleration.