People (Anil Ambani) do not have power plant and I (RIL) do not have gas and I am asked to sign a contract to supply gas? - (RIL's counsel in court on Thursday)
Sometimes we wonder, whether we too get into contracts without substance or conviction. We are so used to the RNRL-RIL case getting postponed that we hardly discuss it. Had it been good times one can imagine how precisely inflated projections would be available on the abundant supply of gas and unending demand for power (though the latter remains true). The markets too are lacking supply of fresh gas. With inflation almost at 12% for week ended July 19, 2008, demand for most things is less except for power! Literally.
After a July jalsa, especially towards the end, the bulls flattened to deceive at expiry.
Thanks to inflation numbers coming a day earlier, we think market participants can slowly start relaxing from Friday afternoon itself. All your joys and sorrows can be best left for Monday mornings.
The outlook for the day is a weak opening. Thereafter, do not expect any strong buying to emerge overall. Stock specific action will continue especially on news-driven counters and companies announcing results.
Reacting to the latest RBI move, ICICI Bank and HDFC raised interest rates by 75bps.
Steel companies may be a mixed bag. While SAIL could see pressure after the ministry has asked it not to raise prices, Tata Steel may see some resilience after its Q1 profit rose 22%.
With new changes in the Nifty coming in next month, reports say brokerages may trim Sensex targets as the P/E ratio goes up. This is due to new entrants like Reliance Power who’s profitability is much lower than a Dr. Reddy’s which is leaving the Nifty. At the same time the market cap of R-Power is around Rs370bn as against Dr.Reddy’s market cap which is in the range of Rs10bn. The low profit of R-Power makes the Nifty expensive, a report added.
The oil rally has thankfully halted. But that appears more on the back of a battered US economy. Despite supply concerns, light, sweet crude oil for September delivery fell $2.69 to settle at $124.08 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Thursday's economic data came in much weaker than forecast.
The economy grew at a 1.9% annual rate from April through June. This was below expectations especially because US gross domestic product got a boost from $90bn in stimulus checks in the previous quarter. Initial jobless claims rose to their highest level in five years last week.
Asian stocks are looking weak expectedly after the US markets ended in the red. Moreover, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Suncorp-Metway Ltd. and NEC Corp. reported more than a dip in profit.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell almost 2% in early hours. Mazda Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp are also trading weak after its first-quarter profit fell on account of a stronger yen and higher raw-material costs.
US indices came tumbling down with the Dow Jones down 206 points, or 1.8% lower. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index closed 1.3% lower. The Nasdaq composite fell marginally by 0.2%. The losses were pared by Motorola earnings, which beat the street and some positive news from the biotech sector.
The dollar fell against the euro and the Japanese yen. COMEX gold for December delivery rose $10.40 to $922.70.
The market will now closely watch if Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke leaves interest rates unchanged on August 5. Expectations are the weakness in the economy will prevent the Fed from raising interest rates.
Last trading session of the month and the F&O series ended on a flat note. It was an absolute lackluster trading session as traders and investors turned cautious ahead of the inflation figures.
Wednesday’s gains spilled over briefly in the opening trades. However, with F&O expiry, markets turned choppy and were struggling for direction throughout the trading session. As expected, volatility was order of the day, however the ups and downs were witnessed in a narrow range.
Finally, the benchmark Sensex ended 68 points higher to close at 14,355 and Nifty ended flat at 4,332.
Among the 30-components of Sensex, 16 stocks were in green and 13 stocks were in red. Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, SBI and Tata Power were among the major gainers. On the other hand, Infosys, Bharti and Grasim were among the major losers.
Federal Bank slipped by 2.8% to Rs191. The company announced its Q1 results with net profit of Rs681.5mn (up 1.7%) for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to Rs669.4mn.
Total Income increased to Rs8,413.3mn (up 27.5%) for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 from Rs6,597mn. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs199 and a low of Rs190 and recorded volumes of over 34,00,000 shares on BSE.
Yes Bank ended flat at Rs127 after the company announced its Q1 results with net profit of Rs543.3mn (up 50%) for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to Rs360mn.
Total Income increased from Rs3,484.9mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 to Rs4,861.9mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The bank also announced that it would raise Prime Lending rate by 50bps effective Aug 1. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs131 and a low of Rs125 and recorded volumes of over 7,00,000 shares on BSE.
Central Bank of India ended 3% lower to close at Rs57 after the company announced its Q1 results with net profit declining by 39.6% at Rs593.2mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to Rs983.5mn.
Total Income increased from Rs18,740.2mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 to Rs25,725.3mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs60 and a low of Rs57 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on BSE.
Bharat Forge surged by over 5% to Rs255. The company announced its Q1 results with net profit after tax of Rs265.6mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to Rs648.1mn.
Total Income increased from Rs5,168.8mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 to Rs6,494.5mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs260 and a low of Rs228 and recorded volumes of over 4,00,000 shares on BSE.
Parsvnath Developers slipped by 1% to Rs111 after the company announced its Q1 results with net profit declining by 22% at Rs712.9mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to Rs844.6mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.
However, Total Income increased from Rs3,568.5mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 to Rs3,717.4mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs114 and a low of Rs109 and recorded volumes of over 4,00,000 shares on BSE.
Titan Industries gained by 3% to Rs1127 after the announced its net profit of Rs322.2mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to Rs126.4mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.
Total Income increased from Rs6,580mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 to Rs8,111.4mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1147 and a low of Rs1099 and recorded volumes of over 36,000 shares on BSE.
Nagarjuna Construction declined by 3% to Rs130. The company announced its Q1 results with net profit after tax of Rs370.8mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to Rs360.3mn.
Total Income increased from Rs7,625.8mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 to Rs9,717.9mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs137 and a low of Rs128 and recorded volumes of over 2,00,000 shares on BSE.
- Chrysler in talks with Tata Motors for distribution of its Jeep Wrangler SUV. (DNA)
- Bajaj Auto redraws bike platform strategy. (DNA)
- JSW Steel to increase prices in August 2008. (DNA)
- JSW group plans $40bn investment plan in steel and power sectors. (BS)
- Nalco will pay double for uninterrupted coal supply for its Damanjodi refinery and Angul smelter. (DNA)
- Dabur plans Rs2.5bn capex. (DNA)
- Vishal Retail postpones Rs2bn IPO. (DNA)
- Tatas scrap $3bn Bangladesh project. (BS)
- Daiichi open offer for Ranbaxy to be delayed. (BS)
- General Motors in talks with M&M for sale of Hummer brand. (BS)
- RIL sees $1bn loss on gas sales to RNRL. (BS)
- Indiabulls Power Services has signed MoU with Madhya Pradesh government to set up a 2,640MW power project. (BS)
- Kirloskar Oil hives off valve division. (BS)
- Unitech to raise $1bn for hotel and retail projects. (BS)
- Kinetic plans foray into auto parts. (BS)
- Tata Chemicals plans Rs7bn investment. (BS)
- Garware Offshore to buy five ships for $100mn. (BL)
- RIL wants cap on liability for gas supply. (BL)
- Tatas, Reliance put mega power projects on fast track. (BL)
- JK Lakshmi Cement begins work on 2.7mt plant. (BL)
- ONGC plans integrated offshore supply base; terminal on east coast. (BL)
- UB group plans contract farming of barley in South. (BL)
- Birla Corporation to set up cement plant in Madhya Pradesh. (BL)
- Moody downgrades IOC’s rating to ‘Baa3’ from ‘Baa2’. (ET)
- Jet Airways hikes basic fare as much as 10%. (ET)
- Essar Group unit secures order from Maharashtra Airport Development Company to develop five-star hotels. (ET)
- Videocon Group acquires 14% equity stake in IOL Netcom. (ET)
- Sintex Industries acquires 90% stake in German-based Geiger Technik for pounds 35.6mn. (ET)
- Berger Paints set to hike paint prices for third time in a row in three months. (ET)
- Jindal Steel & Power plans to invest Rs120bn through a combination of equity and debt. (ET)
- BRFL to set up captive yarn capacities. (ET)
- US may withdraw motion filed against Ranbaxy. (FE)