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Tuesday, January 08, 2008

The elephant and the bull market


At the epicenter of India's booming stock market, on Mumbai's Dalal Street, there's hardly any sign of frenzy. A few dozen people stand outside, laconically watching the electronic ticker. Several murmur into phones behind cupped hands, as vegetarian-snack vendors sell samosas and sub-brokers hand out company prospectuses.

Inside, the Bombay Stock Exchange's once-rambunctious trading floor has long since closed. Now brokers place orders quietly and electronically from elsewhere.

But the calm belies what's really going on - an unprecedented run-up in stock prices fed by foreign-investor enthusiasm about India's economic growth, averaging 9% over the past three years. In the past three months more than $7.9 billion in foreign equity capital has flooded in, pushing the market up such a steep curve that the key Sensex index gained some 3,000 points, or 17.5%, in just 33 days this fall.

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Q3FY2008 Earnings Preview


Q3FY2008 Earnings Preview

Emaar MGF IPO coming soon


The India arm of Dubai's Emaar Properties plans to raise between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion in an Indian IPO, according to a term sheet obtained by a news agency.

Emaar MGF Land Ltd plans to launch its deal roadshow on January 18, with a listing tentatively scheduled for February 27

The company is selling 11.9 per cent of its enlarged share capital in an offering sponsored by Citigroup, Enam Securities, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Merrill Lynch.

Reliance Power - 7 days to go


Are you applying for Reliance Power IPO

Yes ! Anil bhai's dream! 560 (68.2%)

No! Scam !! 260 (31.8%)

What is your vote ? Vote now in the Poll (Right Top)

Market up but smallcaps slaughtered


The Sensex opened with a huge positive gap of 157 points at 20,970, and rallied past the 21,000-mark to a fresh all-time high of 21,078.

Profit-taking at higher levels saw the index drop to a low of 20,697 - down 381 points from the peak. Fresh buying towards the end saw the index finish with a gain of 60 points at 20,873.

The Smallcap Index plunged 3.3% (459 points) to 13,516, and the Midcap Index tumbled 2.8% (285 points) to 9817.

The market breadth was extremely negative - out of 2,922 stocks traded, 2,369 declined, 541 advanced and 12 were unchanged today.

INDEX MOVERS...

Bharti Airtel zoomed 4% to Rs 974. HDFC Bank soared 3.6% to Rs 1,716.

Satyam, SBI and Mahindra & Mahindra surged around 2.5% each to Rs 424, Rs 2,465 and Rs 830, respectively.

Reliance Communications and ONGC rallied nearly 2% each to Rs 804 and Rs 1,322, respectively.

TCS and Infosys advanced 1.5% each to Rs 991 and Rs 1,662, respectively.

DLF and Larsen & Toubro gained over 1% each at Rs 1,151 and Rs 4,333, respectively.

Reliance and Wipro were also up around 1% each at Rs 3,050 and Rs 488, respectively.

...AND SHAKERS

Hindalco and Tata Steel plunged 3.7% each to Rs 209 and Rs 892, respectively.

Grasim shed 3.3% to Rs 3,401. Maruti slipped 2.4% to Rs 940.

ICICI Bank and Reliance Energy tumbled around 2% each to Rs 1,333 and Rs 2,536, respectively.

ACC, Tata Motors and HDFC dropped around 1.5% each to Rs 985, Rs 774 and Rs 3,064, respectively.

NTPC and Cipla declined 1.3% each to Rs 265 and Rs 209, respectively. Hindustan Unilever was down over 1% at Rs 235.

MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS

Reliance Natural Resources topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 1,020.35 crore followed by Reliance Petroleum (Rs 600 crore), Reliance Communications (Rs 334.30 crore), Reliance (Rs 276.50 crore) and Himachal Futuristic (Rs 273.80 crore).

Himachal Futuristic led the volume chart with trades of around 4.59 crore followed by Reliance Natural Resources (4.23 crore), Arvind Remedies (3.22 crore), Reliance Petroleum (2.39 crore) and Alka India (2.35 crore).

Market Close: 21k touched but..Couldn't sustain?


Strong global cues sees firm and banging start as Sensex hits 21k and Nifty made all time high in opening trade. However, indices could not sustain the highs and immediately fell into negative teritorry. Markets continued to trade extremely volatile; there was no clear direction where the indices were heading and juggled on both the sides. But, value buying at lower levels emerged as profit booking at high levels. However, buying at late session helped the indices to recover and end flat. Asian markets ended mixed, European markets trading in green.

Profit booking was seen in all the sectors except IT and selective stocks in sugar. Metals and Capital Goods were hit badly. Mid and small caps which had been outperformer for so many sessions, today were hammered. The both the index hit badly, ended down by 3%.

Sensex ended up by 61 points at 20873.33. It was helped up by gains in Bharti Tele (974.15,+4 percent), HDFC Bk (1716.3,+4 percent), Satyam (424.5,+3 percent), SBI (2465.25,+3 percent) and RCVL (804.3,+2 percent). Restricting the gains are Hindalco (208.95,-4 percent), TISCO (891.8,-4 percent), Grasim (3400.6001,-3 percent), Maruti (939.65,-2 percent) and ICICI Bk (1333.5,-2 percent).

Domestic car sales managed to beat the year-end blues in December 2007 registering an 8.8% growth while bike sales skid by 11.4% for the two-wheeler industry. Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India managed to increase sales by 4.5% to 50,056 units in December against 47,877 units in the corresponding period a year ago. Rivals Hyundai registered a growth of up 18.2% at 13,069 units, compared to 11,049 in the year-ago period, while Tata Motors witnessed a fall of 14% at 10,876 units, against 12,672 units in the same month in 2006. General Motors more than tripled its sales during the month at 4,130 units, compared to 1,064 in December 2006, thanks to heavy discounts offered on its hatchback 'Spark'. On the motorcycle front, the down-slide continued with all the top three manufacturers, Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and TVS registering negative growths in December 2007. However, the auto stocks ended in deep red.

ABG Shipyard Ltd reported impressive results for the third quarter December 2007. The top line grew by 55% to Rs 275 cr and the bottom line grew by 61% to Rs 47 cr. The Ebidta profit grew by 55% to Rs 82 cr from Rs 53 cr on yoy basis. The company has been able to maintain the Ebidta margins at 30%, and has received Rs 17 cr in quarter as subsidy. The company imports 50-60% of raw material required, the appreciating rupee will be benefited. The major raw material is steel; the increase in prices of steel will impact on company?s margins. It has also planed to convert new facility at Dahej to SEZ. This may give some relief to the company if subsidy discontinued. ABG has main advantage of employee cost; it has appointed most of the employees on contract basis, this helps the company to save the fixed cost. The valuations are not compelling at this point of time; the business scenario is extremely good. Read our report here to get more calrity and ther will be a result analysis here too.

Technically Speaking: It was extremely volatile session with no clear direction, Sensex traded on both the sides without direction and ended with small gains. Sensex touched intraday high of 21,078 and low of 20,697. Overall breadth was in favor of Declines, where the Advances stood at 541, while Declines at 2371. The turnover was good at Rs 11,580 cr. Sensex support lies at 20,530 and resistance lies at 20,950 levels.

India Investment Strategy


India Investment Strategy

India Equity Investment Strategy


India Equity Investment Strategy

India Strategy, Sun TV, Ashok Leyland


India Strategy, Sun TV, Ashok Leyland

Everest Kanto, Panacea Biotec, Cement, Banking


Everest Kanto, Panacea Biotec, Cement, Banking

India Strategy - Jan 8 2008


India Strategy - Jan 8 2008

Eveninger - Jan 8 2008


Eveninger - Jan 8 2008

Simplex Infrastructures


Simplex Infrastructures

Post Session Market Commentary


The Indian market closed with modest gains after facing the volatility throughout the trading session. The market opened with handsome gains but was unable to sustain the momentum at higher levels and fell to compensate all its initial gains on the back of heavy selling pressure across the sectoral indices. But the market came off sharply towards the end of the session to close with marginal gains. Metal index remained out of favor as most selling is seen from this basket. The Small Caps and Mid Caps was the worst hit as they faced heavy selling across the counters and they closed lower by 459.06 points and 285.16 points at 13,516.13 and 9,817.07 respectively. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 60.68 points at 20,873.33 and NSE Nifty closed up by 8.75 points at 6,287.85.

BSE Metal index declined by 603.62 points to close at 19,538.34. Scrips that dropped are Ispat industries (6.59%), Nalco (4.74%), Tata Steel (3.66%), Bhushan Steel (3.73%) and Sail (2.93%).

BSE Realty index closed lower by 130.27 points at 13,483.90. Scrips that fell are Penland (5.51%), Indbul Real (4.97%), Parsvnath (4.18%), Mahindra Life (3.67%)

BSE Bankex index slipped by 105.42 points to close at 12,086.57 as Andhra bank (4.93%), CentBOP (4.29%), Allahabad bank (4.31%), Oriental bank (3.33%), BOB (3.24%) and ICICI bank (2.23%).

BSE Oil & Gas index closed higher by 76.97 points at 14,051.27. Scrips that grew are RNRL (7.15%), ONGC (1.69%), Reliance industries (1.16%) and Gail India (0.35%).

BSE Capital Goods index grew by 64.36 points to close at 20,214.92. Scrips that jumped are Suzlon energy (4.77%) and L&T (1.29%).

BSE Health Care fell by 55.77 points to close at 4,297.11 as Fortis Health Care (6.73%), Bilcare (4.62%), Dishman pharma (4.41%), Wockhardt (3.70%), Biocon (3.10%) and Cipla (1.30%).

BSE IT index rose by 49.32 points to close at 4,244.75. Scrips that advanced are Karut Net (4.39%), Satyam (2.67%), Mphasis (2.54%), Tech Mahindra (1.65%), TCS (1.48%) and Infosys (1.47%).

Manaksia ends 5% higher on debut


At Rs 168.10 on BSE

Manaksia settled at Rs 168.10 on BSE, a premium of 5.06% over the IPO price of Rs 160.

On BSE, 1.22 crore shares changed hands in the counter.

The stock debuted at Rs 200, a premium of 25% over the IPO price. It touched a high of Rs 248.70 and low of Rs 161.55.

The company had fixed the issue price at the top end of the Rs 140-160 price band. At the current price of Rs 168.10, the PE multiple works out to 12.73, based on the year ended March 2007 EPS of Rs 13.20.

The public issue of Kolkata-based Manaksia ended on 19 December 2007. The IPO was subscribed 9 times. It received bids for 13.61 crore shares against 1.55 crore shares on offer. The qualified institutional buyers portion was subscribed 13.07 times, the retail segment 5.08 times, and the non institutional investors portion 2.72 times.

Manaksia’s business is spread across aluminium sheets, galvanised steel sheets, mosquito coils and metal packaging products. The flat aluminium products are partly used for captive purposes to make metal containers and caps, and the rest is supplied to auto companies like Maruti Suzuki. Galvanised corrugated steel sheets are mainly used in the household sector in Nigeria.

The company plans to use the net proceeds of the IPO for expansion of the metals business at Haldia in West Bengal. A portion of money would also be used to pre-pay a certain amount of term debt and for general corporate purposes.

Manaksia reported a net profit of Rs 92.06 crore on revenue of Rs 827.78 crore in the year ended March 2007.

Small-cap, mid-cap indices retreat even as Sensex strikes record high


The market was highly volatile as stocks gyrated between zones throughout the trading session with the index witnessing an intra-day swing of 380 points. On the back of firm global indices, the Sensex began its initial trades on a positive note at 20,970, 157 points above its previous close and rallied sharply above the 21,000 level to touch an intra-day high of 21,078. Steady to firm selling pressure thereafter saw the index plunge deep into the red to slip below the 20,700 mark and touch the low of 20,696. The Sensex managed to erase most of its losses on buying in most of the heavyweights and ended 61 points up at 20,873. The Nifty ended marginally up by 9 points at 6,288.

The breadth of the market was negative. Of the 2,922 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,369 stocks declined, 541 stocks advanced and 12 stocks ended unchanged.

Among the sectoral indices, all the sectoral indices except BSE IT index, BSE Teck index and BSE Bankex index were trading with the marginal gains. The BSE Metal index has dropped 3%, the BSE CD index has declined 2.93% and the BSE PSU index has shed 1.70% while BSE FMCG, Auto, HC, Oil & Gas, Reality and Power were in red at the close of trading.

Selective buying helped the index overcome its losses. Bharti Airtel flared up 4.01% at Rs974, HDFC Bank advanced 3.58% at Rs1,716, Satyam Computer rose 2.67% at Rs424.50 and SBI added 2.59% at Rs2,465. M&M, Reliance Communications, ONGC, TCS, Infosys and DLF witnessed steady gains.

Selling was evident in select heavyweight counters. Hindalco dropped 3.78% at Rs208.95, Tata Steel declined 3.66% at Rs891.80, Grasim tumbled 3.26% at Rs3,400.60, Maruti shed 2.43% at Rs939.65, ICICI Bank dipped 2.23% at Rs1,333.50, Reliance Energy moved down by 1.86% at Rs2,536 and HDFC 1.54% at Rs3,064.

BSE Metal stocks dropped sharply. Ispat Industries dipped 6.59% at Rs69.40, Nalco dropped 4.74% at Rs500.50, SH Precoated declined by 3.91% at Rs453.75. However, Bhushan Steel gained 3.73% at Rs1,607.95. Tisco, Jindal Saw, and Sterlite scaled down 3-2.50% each.

Over 52.21 lakh ITC shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Reliance Communications (41.53 lakh shares), NTPC (27.81 lakh shares), ONGC (15.66 lakh shares) and Hindalco (13.40 lakh shares).

Market ends flat amid volatility


The market was highly volatile as stocks gyrated between zones throughout the trading session with the index witnessing an intra-day swing of 380 points. On the back of firm global indices, the Sensex began its initial trades on a positive note at 20,970, 157 points above its previous close and rallied sharply above the 21,000 level to touch an intra-day high of 21,078. Steady to firm selling pressure thereafter saw the index plunge deep into the red to slip below the 20,700 mark and touch the low of 20,696. The Sensex managed to erase most of its losses on buying in most of the heavyweights and ended 61 points up at 20,873. The Nifty ended marginally up by 9 points at 6,288.

The breadth of the market was negative. Of the 2,922 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,369 stocks declined, 541 stocks advanced and 12 stocks ended unchanged.

Among the sectoral indices, all the sectoral indices except BSE IT index, BSE Teck index and BSE Bankex index were trading with the marginal gains. The BSE Metal index has dropped 3%, the BSE CD index has declined 2.93% and the BSE PSU index has shed 1.70% while BSE FMCG, Auto, HC, Oil & Gas, Reality and Power were in red at the close of trading.

Selective buying helped the index overcome its losses. Bharti Airtel flared up 4.01% at Rs974, HDFC Bank advanced 3.58% at Rs1,716, Satyam Computer rose 2.67% at Rs424.50 and SBI added 2.59% at Rs2,465. M&M, Reliance Communications, ONGC, TCS, Infosys and DLF witnessed steady gains.

Selling was evident in select heavyweight counters. Hindalco dropped 3.78% at Rs208.95, Tata Steel declined 3.66% at Rs891.80, Grasim tumbled 3.26% at Rs3,400.60, Maruti shed 2.43% at Rs939.65, ICICI Bank dipped 2.23% at Rs1,333.50, Reliance Energy moved down by 1.86% at Rs2,536 and HDFC 1.54% at Rs3,064.

BSE Metal stocks dropped sharply. Ispat Industries dipped 6.59% at Rs69.40, Nalco dropped 4.74% at Rs500.50, SH Precoated declined by 3.91% at Rs453.75. However, Bhushan Steel gained 3.73% at Rs1,607.95. Tisco, Jindal Saw, and Sterlite scaled down 3-2.50% each.

Over 52.21 lakh ITC shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Reliance Communications (41.53 lakh shares), NTPC (27.81 lakh shares), ONGC (15.66 lakh shares) and Hindalco (13.40 lakh shares).

Market may advance further


Stocks across sectors along with heavyweights may gyrate sharply. Overnight weakness in the US indices and mixed Asian markets in mornings trades may further dampen the investors' sentiment. On the technical side, the Nifty has a stiff resistance at 6300 and the downside cap at 6193, while the Sensex could test higher levels of 21000 and has a likely support at 20438.

US indices ended mixed on Monday, with the Dow Jones closing below at 12827, 27 points up. The Nasdaq lost 5 points at 2499.

All the Indian floats had a field day on the US bourses. ICICI Bank jumped 9.81%, HDFC Bank surged 6.53% and Tata Motors moved up by 3.26% while Satyam, Wipro, Infosys and Dr Reddy's gained around 1-3% each. However Rediff lost 2.42% followed by Patni Computers by 2.23%.

Crude oil prices in the US market slipped on Monday, with the Nymex light crude oil for February delivery falling by $2.82 to close at $95.09 a barrel and in the commodity space, the Comex gold for February series also lost $3.70to settle at $862 a troy ounce.

Daily Report - Jan 8 2008


Daily Report - Jan 8 2008

Market may extend gains


The market may extend gains amid steady-to-firm Asian markets. Market men expect stepping up of buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). With the beginning of the new calendar year, FIIs are expected to make fresh fund allocations. FIIs pumped in Rs 71486.50 crore or $17.23 billion in Indian equities in calendar year 2007.

FIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 508.80 crore on Friday, 4 January 2008. But as per provisional data, FIIs sold shares worth a net Rs 1543.44 crore on Monday, 7 January 2008. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 327.64 crore on that day.

FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 728.98 crore in the futures & options segment on Monday. According to data released by the NSE, FIIs were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 716.51 crore and bought index options worth Rs 348.08 crore. They were net sellers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 1,762.35 crore and sold stock options worth Rs 31.22 crore.

The market has hit a record high at the onset of the New Year on expectations of FII inflows and also on expectations of good Q3 December 2007 results. Stock-specific activity may rule the roost in the near term based on expectations of results of individual firms. Earnings surprises hold the key for the market in the near term.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 125.76 points or 0.61% to 20,812.65, a record closing high, on Monday, 7 January 2008. Gains in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank led the upmove.

Telecom sector is expected to continue to post strong earnings growth in Q3 December 2007 on the back of rising new subscriber additions whereas healthy order book will ensure that capital goods firms such as Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Heavy Electricals will turn out good performance for yet another quarter.

Media sector, too, is expected to post decent to strong growth on the back of higher advertisement rates. On the other hand, the IT sector is likely to be hit by the appreciation of the rupee against the dollar.

Steel sector is expected to show strong growth on the back of volume growth and higher price realizations. The performance of the auto sector is expected to be sluggish due to sluggish sales and pressure on margins on account of higher input costs. The banking sector is expected see increase in margins due to cut in deposit rates, and higher fee based income. Increase in costs and dismal volume growth is expected to weight on the performance of the cement sector.

IT bellwether Infosys Technologies kickstarts the reporting season on Friday, 11 January 2008.

Meanwhile, Reliance Power, a 50% subsidiary of Reliance Energy (REL) will raise over Rs 11000 crore from India's biggest ever IPO scheduled to open for subscription next week.

Asian markets edged higher on Tuesday, 8 January 2008, recovering from Monday (7 January 2008)’s fall caused by fears that the US economy may be headed into a recession. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were up by between 0.18% to 1.5%.

The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 rose on Monday, 7 January 2008, led by health-care and consumer staple shares, as investors snapped up stock in companies seen able to withstand any economic slowdown following dismal employment data last Friday. But the Nasdaq finished lower, as technology shares with global exposure fell on concerns a US slowdown could damage the global economy. The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 27.31 points, or 0.21%, at 12,827.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 4.55 points, or 0.32%, at 1,416.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5.19 points, or 0.21%, to close at 2,499.46.

Recent economic data has raised concerns that the US economy may be headed towards a recession. A US recession may not impact India’s economic growth in a big way given that domestic demand is a key driver of the Indian economy. India's economy is expected to post strong growth for a long period due to favourable demographics. Economists also reckon that a healthy investment cycle will continue to support growth through a self-perpetuating cycle of income creation, savings and investment.

Though the Indian economy may be relatively insulated from the US recession, any risk aversion globally causing setback in global markets, may cast its shadow on the Indian bourses.

Short Term Trading Calls - Jan 8 2008


Buy Ballarpur Industries SL - Rs 170 Target - Rs 222 and Rs 251.

Buy Balrampur Chini SL - Rs 110 Target - Rs 131 and Rs 164.

Nicholas Piramal


Nicholas Piramal

Morning Call - Jan 8 2008


Market Grape Wine :

In House :

Intra Day: Buy Airdeccan above 297 with a TGT of 310 and a SL of 292.50

Buy Arvindmill above 87.50 with a TGT of 93 and a SL of 85.50

Delivery buy: DCMShriramconsolidated, Mcleodrussel,JCT

F&O: Buy REL above 2620 with a TGT of 2670 and a SL of 2590

Buy Unitech above 539 with a TGT of 554 and a SL of 530



Out House :

Markets at a support of 20454 & 20591 levels with resistance at 20898 & 20989 levels .

Buy : RIL & REL

Buy : Kohinoor & Adhunik

Buy : NTPC & Jphydro

Buy : Kotak Bank & IciciBank

Buy : TataMotor

Buy : IBUllsreal & IBullsFin

Buy : ITC & HLL bullet

Buy : SBIN

Buy : RNRL & RPL

Dark Horse : REL , RPL , Kohinooor , Jphydro , RNRL , IBullReal , Aban , RIL & SBIN

Pre Open Market Commentary


The Indian market today is likely to have a positive opening due to mixed cues from the global markets. Yesterday, the Indian market closed in the positive territory after struggling a lot throughout the trading session. The market opened on a negative note tracking the weak global cues but managed to recover from the fall on the back of heavy buying at the lower levels. BSE Bankex, Realty and Capital Goods remained the centre of attraction as most buying is seen from these baskets. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 125.76 points at 20,812.65 and NSE Nifty closed up by 4.8 points at 6,279.10. We expect that the market may gain some grounds during the trading session.

On Monday, the US market closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed higher by 27.31 points at 12,827.49 and S&P 500 index closed up by 4.55 points at 1416.18 while Nasdaq fell by 5.99 points at 2,499.46.

Indian ADRS closed in green. In technology sector, Infosys grew by (2.09%) along with Satyam by (1.62%) and Wipro by (0.81%). In banking sector, ICICI bank and HDFC bank inched up by (9.81%) and (6.53%) respectively.

The major stock markets in Asia are trading mixed. Hang Seng is trading higher by 345.75 points at 27,525.24. Taiwan Weighted is trading up by 117.69 points to trade at 8,001.06 while Japan''s Nikkei is trading lower by 41.81 points at 14,458.74. Singapore Strait Times is trading at 3,368.56 up by 15.50 points.

On Monday the FIIs stood as net buyer both in equity and debt. The gross equity purchased was Rs4,549.40 Crore and the gross debt purchased was Rs730.80 Crore while the gross equity sold stood at Rs4,040.60 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs209.80 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity reported was Rs508.80 Crore and net debt was Rs521Crore.

Today, Nifty has support at 6,213 and resistance at 6,374 and BSE Sensex has support at 20,634 and resistance at 21,102.

A late rally at US Markets


Market ends mixed after whipsaw trading as Nasdaq continues to be in the red

US stock market witnessed volatile trading today and all the three indices were about to finish in the red, if not for the last fifteen minutes of trading. In the last few minutes, Dow and S&P 500 were pushed into the green. Nasdaq continued with its losing streak and the index ended in the red for the seventh consecutive day. Investors seemed to remain confused about the country’s current economic outlook.

IBM weighed heavily on the technology stocks after UBS Securities downgraded the stock citing that the company’s hardware and services sales could be pressured because IBM has the largest financial services exposure in the sector.

The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a gain of 27.3 points at 12,827.5. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished lower by 5.19 points at 2,499. S&P 500 finished higher by 4.55 points at 1,416.18.

Twenty-one out of thirty Dow stocks ended in the green today. Altria and Mc Donalds led the team of Dow winners while IBM and Alcoa led the team of Dow laggards.

Stocks today opened modestly higher today though there was no specific economic news for the day. But at the end, Technology, Industrials, Energy, and Materials - all sectors posted losses.

Mc Donalds shares closed up 1.7%, following a report that the fast-food chain would compete with Starbucks by opening coffee bars offering cappuccinos and lattes. Starbucks shares too ended almost 2% higher.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank ADRs end considerably higher

Among other major events of the day, President Bush today spoke about the economy. He noted that the housing slump and high energy prices are among today's challenges. He also said he is determined to make sure taxes stay low. His comments did not have any dramatic effects on the stock market.

Indian ADRs ended mixed today. But ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank ADRs ended very strong today. Both ADRs closed higher by 9.8% and 6.5% respectively. They were followed by Tata Motors whose ADr closed by higher by 3.5%.

Crude prices continued to be affected by recession fears. Crude prices dropped more than $2 today after a US report came up with much below-expected job data on last Friday. The same raised concern of a recession that would curb energy demand. Forecasts of higher-than-normal temperatures through 20 January in the Northeast part of USA also pressured prices.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed at $95.89/barrel (lower by $2.82/barrel or 2.9%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract hit an intraday low of $94.55. Prices are 69% higher on a yearly basis.

More than 1.7 billion shares traded hands on the New York Stock Exchange, where advancing stocks outpaced those declining 9 to 7. On the Nasdaq, volume neared 2.6 billion, and declining stocks edged just ahead of those advancing.

Tomorrow will be another day when investors will focuss on the economic reports to set the tone of trading. The monthly reading of Pending Home Sales will be announced by the National Association of Realtors in the morning providing market with the latest gauge in housing demand. In the afternoon, November's consumer credit data is scheduled for release which is indicative of consumer finances and consumer health.

IPO Grey Market Premiums


Future Capital Holdings 700 to 765 650 to 700


Reliance Power 405 to 450 440 to 445


SVPCL 42 DISCOUNT


Aries Agro 130 30 to 35


Manaksia Ltd. 160 15 to 20 (Listing Today)


Porwal Autocomponents 75 DISCOUNT

Q3FY2008 Bank Earnings Preview


Q3FY2008 Bank Earnings Preview

Daily Trading Calls


Nifty (6279) Sup 6205 Res 6331

Buy Orchid Chem (314) SL 309 Tgt 323, 326

Buy Siemens (2025) SL 2000 Tgt 2080, 2090

Buy Welspun Guj (465) SL 460 tgt 475, 479

Sell Strides Arcolab (273) SL 276 tgt 265, 261

Sell Polaris (121) SL 125 tgt 114, 112

Bulls hook on to liquidity


You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him up to a heavy load.

The bulls have been pulling themselves out of most global concerns. Strong support from both overseas as well as domestic institutions saw bulls staging the expected comeback despite weak global cues. Today, we see a higher opening as most Asian markets appear to be holding firm in the face of the looming threat of a recession in the US, the region's biggest overseas market. Our market should be alright for the day unless there is fresh weakness in Asian or European markets later. Street smart signs may indicate that markets may remain firm till the mega IPO of Reliance Power gets out of the way. But, remain on guard for a reversal anytime. For the day enjoy the gains.

If liquidity remains strong our market should not face too many issues in combating global concerns that seem to spring up every now and again. Corporate results will have a say on money flows as would the outcome of meetings by the Fed and the RBI. The undertone continues to be positive though valuations have reached unchartered territories, prompting many market observers to raise the red flags.

BHEL has decided to modify the scope of the proposed JV with NTPC to include manufacturing and supply of equipment for power plants and other infrastructure projects in India and abroad. BHEL had signed an agreement with NTPC on Dec. 17, for setting up a JV for EPC business.

The equity shares of Manaksia Ltd. will get listed today.

Results Today: Kopran, Patel Engineering, Prism Cement, Shree Cement, Supreme Industries and TVS Electronics. Shares of Refex Refrigerants might gain as the company has reported a 53% growth in topline and 47% in the bottomline for the quarter ended December.

Consolidated Construction Consortium has received orders worth Rs1.84bn for construction of buildings and factories in Karnataka, Rs683.9mn in Tamilnadu during December. The total orders received total Rs2.52bn.

Clutch Auto is launching host of new products for the International and domestic markets with technologies to suit arduous Indian operating conditions and to meet diverse customer requirements.

US stocks ended mixed on Monday with the Nasdaq registering its seventh consecutive decline while the broader market managed slim gains on the back of strength in drugmakers and utilities.

The key indices were highly choppy through the day given the mounting worries over the state of the world's largest economy while some buying crept in following the big falls on Friday. The S&P 500 swung between gains and losses at least 35 times during the day.

Investors also considered comments about the economy from President George W. Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and a Federal Reserve official, as well as news of an incident between Iran and the US military.

Eli Lilly, Biogen and Celgene helped push healthcare companies to their biggest advance in five months. FPL Group led gains in utilities. AT&T and Altria climbed after Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs advised purchasing the stocks.

The S&P 500 Index advanced 5 points, or 0.3%, to 1,416.18, rebounding from its worst start to a year since 2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27 points, or 0.2%, to 12,827.49. The Nasdaq lost 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,499.46, hurt by a 10% drop in chip maker Nvidia.

About six stocks rose for every five that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shortly before the close, the major indexes were down sharply, until a last-minute advance propelled the Dow and S&P 500 into positive territory and helped the Nasdaq cut losses.

President Bush and Treasury Secretary Paulson said that US economic indicators were sending mixed signals and that they were considering whether a stimulus was needed. "We're all focused on this," Paulson told the New York Society of Security Analysts. This is a decision the President still has to make, Paulson said.

Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart said negatives in the US economy were picking up speed and market experts were worried about further deterioration. Lockhart is not a voting member of the Fed's 2008 policy committee, but will be an alternate for the upcoming Jan. 29-30 meeting.

Adding to the volatility was news from the US military that five Iranian boats harassed three US naval ships in international waters over the weekend. Iran denied that the matter was a serious incident. The White House said it will confront such behavior if Iran threatens the US or its allies.

US light crude oil for February fell $2.82 to settle at $95.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. COMEX gold for February delivery fell $3.50 to settle at $859.60 an ounce.

Treasury prices climbed, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.835 percent from 3.89 percent late Thursday. In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the yen and the euro.

European shares could not hold early gains for the second session in a row, as fears of a recession hurt companies exposed to economic shifts, such as metal producers, technology providers and construction firms. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index closed 0.2% lower at 351.27. The French CAC-40 advanced 0.1% to 5,452.83, and the German DAX 30 added 0.1%, rising to 7,817.17. The UK's FTSE 100 ended 0.2% lower at 6,335.70.

In the emerging markets, the Bovespa in Brazil was down 0.4% at 60,772 while the IPC index in Mexico tumbled 0.6% at 28,152 and the ISE National-30 index in Turkey finished flat at 66,150.

Asian markets, barring Japan were trading higher this morning. The Nikkei in Tokyo was down 41 points at 14,458 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 415 points to 27,594. The Kospi in Seoul was flat at 1832 while the Straits Times in Singapore rose 16 points to 3369. The Shanghai Composite in China added 57 points at 5450 and the Taiex in Taiwan was up 105 points at 7988.

Bulls hope to stand firm

Weak cues from the International markets triggered a sell off in the early trades dragging the benchmark Sensex to slip to a low of 20,438. However, after staging a bounce back, the Sensex remained choppy in the mid afternoon session before gaining momentum led by the Banking, FMCG and the Realty stocks. Even the Sugar stocks were in the limelight. Finally, 30-share Sensex closed at 20,812 gaining 125 points and Nifty ended at 6,279 up 4 points.

Sugar stocks had a sweet session after reports stated that Ethanol may get ‘declared goods’ status in Budget. Sakhti Sugar rallied by over 19% to Rs110, Renuka Sugar surged by over 4.5% to Rs1081, Rana Sugar was locked at 5% upper circuit to Rs23.85 and Balrampur Chini surged by over 5% to Rs122.

Hikal spurred by over 7.5% to Rs492 after the company announced that it entered into an agreement with Pfizer for APIS. The scrip has touched an intra-day high of Rs512 and a low of Rs465 and has recorded volumes of over 58,000 shares on NSE.

Su-Raj Diamonds ended flat at Rs97. The company announced its plans to sell Rs3.62mn shares to promoters. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs102 and a low of Rs95 and recorded volumes of over 3,00,000 shares on NSE.

L&T gained 1% to Rs4282 after the company announced that it secured order of more than Rs13bn from Cairn. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs4315 and a low of Rs4190 and recorded volumes of over 8,00,000 shares on NSE.

Vikas WSP was frozen at 10% upper circuit to Rs65.50 after the company announced that it acquired 1,985 acres of Farm land in Rajasthan. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs65.5 and a low of Rs59 and recorded volumes of over 16,00,000 shares on NSE.

Bartronics India was up 7.5% to Rs284 after the company announced the successful issuance of US$50mn zero coupon unsecured foreign currency convertible bonds. The bonds have a maturity of 5 years and are convertible at a price of Rs290 which represents a premium of around 20% over the current market price. Silverdale Services Limited, London, was the sole Lead Manager for the offering. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs294 and a low of Rs258 and recorded volumes of over 5,00,000 shares on NSE.

Bihar Tubes advanced 4% to Rs208 after the board of directors of the company would consider Preferential warrant sale on January, 15 2008. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs217 and a low of Rs199 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on NSE.

ICICI Bank spurred by over 6% to Rs1362 after media reports stated that the company would list its 100% subsidiary ICICI securities. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1379 and a low of Rs1234 and recorded volumes of over 72,00,000 shares on NSE.

Indowind Energy advanced 3% to Rs159 after reports stated that the company would raise Rs250 cr-300 cr Via QIP. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs166 and a low of Rs151 and recorded volumes of over 4,00,000 shares on NSE.

ABG Shipyard slipped 1.5% to Rs978. The company announced its Q3 result with net profit at Rs47cr (up 60%) and net sales at Rs274cr (up 54.8%). The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1035 and a low of Rs967 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on NSE.

Parsvnath rallied by over 8.5% to Rs574 after the company announced that it secured contract worth Rs900mn to build Ashram at Shirdi. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs598 and a low of Rs520 and recorded volumes of over 84,00,000 shares on NSE.

What the FIIs are doing

FIIs were net buyers of Rs15.43bn (provisional) in the cash segment on Monday while the local institutions pumped in Rs3.28bn. In the F&O segment, foreign funds were net sellers of Rs7.29bn.

On Friday, FIIs were net buyers of Rs5.09bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were also net buyers of Rs6.17bn on the same day.

News Snippets:

ICICI Bank and ADAG Group are planning to set up syndicates in London’s Lloyd’s Market, one of the larges reinsurance markets in the world. (FE)

The Power Ministry has asked Reliance Power to advance commissioning of units at Sasan UMPP. (FE)

Pantaloon Retail is planning to increase Future Money outlets from 95 to 400 by 2010. (FE)

ICICI Bank is planning to list its investment banking and broking subsidiary, ICICI Securities. (ET)

The Government’s move to allow GAIL to market entire PMT gas has impacted gas supplies to GSPC and Gujarat Gas. (BL)

Reliance Energy and GMR are the only Indian companies short listed for buying US$2bn Tuas Power owned by Temasek. (ET)

ADAG is to tie up with US lignite miner, North American Coal Corporation to ensure fuel supply to its 28,200 MW projects. (ET)

Gitanjali Gems has purchased ‘Nakshatra’ brand from Diamond Trading Company (DTC) for Rs1bn. (ET)

Nitco Tiles is planning to set up a new tile manufacturing unit in Gujarat. (ET)

The proposal of merger of State Bank of Saurashtra with the State Bank of India will be taken up by the Cabinet on January 10. (ET)

Fortis Financial Services is planning to make an application to RBI to surrender its NBFC licence. (ET)

Sical Logistics has received Madras High Court approval to demerge its non-logistics business into a separate subsidiary. (ET)

GNFC plans to invest Rs780mn for setting up six eco-friendly wind power generators. (BL)

RNRL may buy out some mines in Indonesia and Australia for dedicated fuel supplies to support the Krishnapatnam UMPP. (BL)

Cranes Software has announced the acquisition of US based specialized auto consulting and product development firm, Engineering Technology Associates. (BL)

States have arrived at a consensus to bring about uniform duty structure for liquor across the country. (ET)

The Finance Ministry is understood to have allocated Rs310bn for fertilizer subsidies and concessions during FY09. (ET)

Cement manufacturers in Tamil Nadu have agreed to take a decision on reducing prices before February 10. (ET)

FDI inflows into the country surged to US$15.7bn in FY07 and the target for FY08 is US$30bn. (BL)

The Empowered Group of Ministers will meet on January 17, to discuss fuel price hike. (BL)

ULCRA would be completely scrapped in the country as AP, West Bengal and Jharkhand agree to repeal the act. (BL)

The Government has denied plans to privatize Dabhol project. (FE)

The Government would consider tax sops to promote low cost housing in the country. (FE)

The Maharashtra Government has agreed to withdraw export duty on ethanol. (FE)

Newsprint prices may increase by ~20% yoy in FY08. (BS)

The Government is set to import 1.2mn tons of vegetable oils in the first quarter of 2008. (BS)

Daily Market Outlook - Jan 8 2008


Daily Market Outlook - Jan 8 2008

Daily Technical Analysis


Nifty — The index opened on a negative note after which it witnessed a rise throughout the day’s trading session. It ended the day with a gain of 7 points.

Support & Resistance — The index tested the 6185 support level in the opening session and bounced back. On the daily bar chart, index has posted an inside day (i.e. yesterdays price range is totally within the prior day’s price range). Breakout above the 6300 level would see index exhibit intra-day strength. Intra-day index has support around 6230-6185 range. Intra-day declines should find support around these levels.

Conclusion — Expect intra-day strength above 6300 levels.

Precious metals end lower


Gold and silver prices decline as crude slips by more than $2 and dollar strengthens

Precious metals ended lower for the second consecutive day as both gold and silver prices dropped today, Monday, 07 January, 2008. Gold and silver prices fell today after oil prices slipped and dollar strengthened against its rivals.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S. currency. Gold, as a dollar-denominated commodity, suffers from dollar strength. Gold gained 31% in FY 2007 while oil jumped 57% and the dollar fell 9.5% against the euro.

Comex Gold for February delivery today fell $3.7 (0.4%) to close at $862 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Last week, gold prices gained $23/ounce (2.7%).

Prices touched $872 during intraday trading on 3 January, 2008 and finally had closed at $869.3/ounce. That closing price was the highest price after a record $873 that gold hit on 21 January, 1980.

Comex Silver futures for March delivery today fell 17.2 cents (1.1%) to $15.29 an ounce. Prices touched 26 year high on 7 November, 2007, after reaching $16.275. Silver has gained 2.5% in 2008. The metal had climbed 15.5% in FY 2007. The metal also has gained for seven straight years.

Gold witnessed the greatest annual gain in twenty eight years by gaining $200/ounce (31%) in FY 2007. In 2006, silver had jumped 46% while gold gained 23%.

In the currency market today, the dollar rose against most major counterparts. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, gained 0.6% to 76.210

In the energy market today crude oil fell more than $2 a barrel in New York after renewed concerns about recession hinted that a a recession would curb energy demand. In FY 2007, crude prices had gained $57%.

Gold has traditionally been used as a safe-haven asset against rising inflation. Investor sentiments are boosted by the fact that gold and silver are alternate sources of good investment in the face of declining dollar and rising energy prices. Rising crude increases inflationary pressures and vice versa. On the other hand strong dollar reduces the appeal of the metal as alternate source of investment.

Gold had climbed 31% in FY 2007 as lower interest rates had sent the dollar tumbling, and crude-oil prices rose to a record.

The Fed reduced federal funds rate three times in FY 2007. The current interest rate stands at 4.5%. The Fed also lowered its discount rate twice, the interest it charges on direct loans it makes to banks, and currently it stands at 4.75%. With these interest rate cuts, dollar has been tumbling down. Market anticipates that there will be more rate cut in the coming year.

Gold is expected to rally to all-time highs in the first quarter in FY 2008 as higher oil prices and a weaker dollar will continue to boost demand. Market expects another phase o interest rate cut in the end of the month.

Crude gives up almost $3


Demand concerns and above average temperature put pressure on price

Crude prices continued to be affected by recession fears. Crude prices dropped more than $2 on Monday, 7 January, 2008 after a US report came up with much below-expected job data on last Friday. The same raised concern of a recession that would curb energy demand. Forecasts of higher-than-normal temperatures through 20 January in the Northeast part of USA also pressured prices.

Crude had ended FY 2007 substantially higher by $35 or 57%. It was crude’s biggest yearly gain in five years.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed at $95.89/barrel (lower by $2.82/barrel or 2.9%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract hit an intraday low of $94.55. Prices are 69% higher on a yearly basis. Last week, crude prices gained $2.

As per Labor Department, U.S nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 18,000 in December. It was the weakest growth seen since August 2003. The data hit the wires last Friday, 4 January, 2008.

In the currency market, the dollar rose against most major counterparts. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, gained 0.6% to 76.210.

Brent crude oil for February settlement today fell $2.4 (2.5%) to $94.39 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The London benchmark rose 54% in FY 2007, the most since 1999 when prices more than doubled.

Natural gas remains the only exception registering gains

Natural gas in New York rose amid forecasts for lower temperatures and higher demand next week. Gas for February rose 3.8 cents (0.5%) to settle at $7.879 per million British thermal units.

Against this backdrop, February reformulated gasoline fell 8.12 cents (3%) to end at $2.4298 a gallon. February heating oil dropped 9 cents (3%) to finish at $2.5935 a gallon.

As per National Weather Service, above average temperature will dominate most part of US for the next two weeks. This is the time of peak demand for gasoline and heating oil.

Members of the OPEC left production targets unchanged at the 5 December meeting in Abu Dhabi. The group, which produces 40% of the world's oil, will review output at a 1 February, 2008 meeting in Vienna.

Phoenix Lamps


Phoenix Lamps

Q3FY2008 Media Earnings Preview


Q3FY2008 Media Earnings Preview

Banking Sector


Banking Sector