Metal shares rise as market clocks modest gains

Key benchmark indices recovered some of yesterday’s (21 August 2008) steep losses. The market extended gains in late trade to touch intra-day high before paring gains. The BSE Sensex provisionally rose 140 points. Hindalco Industries and Sterlite Industries rose more than 4% each, as metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange (LME).

European markets were in green. France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX and UK’s FTSE 100 were up between 0.59% to 1%.

India's wholesale prices index rose 12.63% in the year through 9 August 2008, up from the previous week's 12.44% rise, data released by the government after trading hours on Thursday, 21 August 2008, showed.

Oil price surged. Light, sweet crude for September 2008 delivery surged $5.62 to $121.18 a barrel yesterday, 21 August 2008 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on weaker dollar and worries about tightening output from OPEC countries.

Meanwhile, as per reports, nuclear supplier nations at a meeting in Vienna on Thursday, 21 August 2008, proposed conditions for lifting a global ban on fuel and technology exports to India, a step required to implement a US-India nuclear cooperation deal. A green light from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group is needed for the deal to proceed to the US Congress for final ratification.

The BSE 30-share Sensex provisionally ended up 139.64 points or 0.98% to 14,383.37. The market had staged a comeback from early lows as heavyweights rebounded. A rally in crude oil prices weighed on the sentiment in opening trade.

Sensex opened 90.34 points lower at 14,153.39 and slipped further to a low of 14,136.86 in early trade. At the day’s low, the Sensex lost 106.87 points. At the day’s high of 14,428.52 points hit in late trade, the Sensex gained 184.79 points.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 64.17 points or 0.84% to 4,319.65 as per the provisional figures.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4,041 crore today as compared to a turnover of Rs 4,134.96 crore on 21 August 2008.

The market breadth was negative on BSE with 1414 shares declining as compared to 1,204 that advanced. 105 remained unchanged.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 21 gained while the rest of them slipped.

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.43% at Rs 2,244, off day’s low of Rs 2191. The Bombay High Court on Thursday, 21 August 2008, suggested that the warring Ambani brothers go back to their mother Kokilaben and have the dispute settled.

The division bench of Justices JN Patel and KK Tated are hearing the dispute between the Anil-Ambani controlled Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) over supply of natural gas from the later's eastern offshore Krishna-Godavari gas fields. Ram Jethmalani, counsel for RNRL, said Anil Ambani was ready to meet his elder brother any time, any place. The case hearing has been adjourned to 1 September 2008.

BSE Metal index rose 1.44% to 12,342.70 and was the top gainer from sectoral indices on BSE. Metal shares rose tracking rally in global metal prices. Steel Authority of India (up 5.02% to Rs 151.60), Sterlite Industries (up 4.21% to Rs 626), Hindalco Industries (up 4.03% to Rs 134.25), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.71% to Rs 576.40), National Aluminum Company (up 0.26% to Rs 387.90), and Tata Steel (up 0.87% to Rs 594.45) edged higher.

Hindustan Unilever (up 3.73% to Rs 244.85), HDFC (up 3.22% to Rs 2280.65), Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 2.76% to Rs 1,715.95), Reliance Infrastructure (up 2.53% to Rs 978.85), Tata Power Company (up 2.65% to Rs 1,050.75), Infosys (up 1.84% to Rs 1,695.05) edged higher from the Sensex pack.

Satyam Computer Services (down 3.18% to Rs 386.40), NTPC (down 2.54% to Rs 169.10), Grasim Industries (down 1.85% to Rs 1,929.10), Larsen & Toubro (down 0.88% to Rs 2,604.90), Wipro (down 0.93% to Rs 417.55) edged lower from the Sensex pack.

India’s second largest telecom services provider by sales Reliance Communications gained 1.86% to Rs 405.75 on reports the contentious issue of interconnection with GSM operators has been resolved. Reliance Communications (RCom) is launching its global system for mobile (GSM) services shortly. The issue of interconnection through which subscribers of one operator can talk to subscribers of another operator was reportedly resolved in a meeting between the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and operators on Thursday, 21 August 2008.

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower today, 22 August 2008. Key benchmark indices in China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea were down by between 0.1% and 1.09%. Singapore’s Straits Times rose 0.03%.

US stocks finished mixed on Thursday, 21 August 2008, after investors largely shrugged off a jump in oil prices and focused instead on a bullish call on Lehman Brothers Holdings that eased worries about the financial sector. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 12.78 points, or 0.11%, to 11,430.21. The S&P 500 index advanced 3.18 points, or 0.25%, to 1,277.72, and the Nasdaq Composite index slipped 8.70 points, or 0.36%, to 2,380.38.