NSE Bulk Deal Watch - Feb 18 2008

Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
18-FEB-2008,CORDSCABLE,Cords Cable Industries Li,ASTUTE COMMODITIES & DERIVATIVES Pvt Ltd,BUY,83294,148.95,-
18-FEB-2008,CORDSCABLE,Cords Cable Industries Li,MANISH VRAJLAL SARVAIYA,BUY,132808,149.62,-
18-FEB-2008,CORDSCABLE,Cords Cable Industries Li,PACE FINCAP PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,79035,149.19,-
18-FEB-2008,HINDDORROL,Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Ltd,SHAIL INVESTMENTS PRIVATE LIMI,BUY,201501,140.00,-
18-FEB-2008,ITI,ITI Ltd.,MARUDHAR VYAPAAR PVT LTD,BUY,271000,44.31,-
18-FEB-2008,JKIL,J.Kumar Infraprojects Lim,DINESH MUNJAL,BUY,117086,116.85,-
18-FEB-2008,JKIL,J.Kumar Infraprojects Lim,MANISH VRAJLAL SARVAIYA,BUY,429005,114.20,-
18-FEB-2008,JKIL,J.Kumar Infraprojects Lim,NAMAN SECURITIES & FINANCE PVT LTD,BUY,158174,115.37,-
18-FEB-2008,JKIL,J.Kumar Infraprojects Lim,PRASHANT JAYANTILAL PATEL,BUY,179225,112.85,-
18-FEB-2008,KNRCON,KNR Constructions Limited,CPR CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,BUY,155541,161.08,-
18-FEB-2008,KNRCON,KNR Constructions Limited,R.M. SHARE TRADING PVT LTD,BUY,227540,164.07,-
18-FEB-2008,XLTL,XL Telecom Limited,KOTAK MAHINDRA UK LTD,BUY,87519,310.00,-
18-FEB-2008,CORDSCABLE,Cords Cable Industries Li,ASTUTE COMMODITIES & DERIVATIVES Pvt Ltd,SELL,78294,148.42,-
18-FEB-2008,CORDSCABLE,Cords Cable Industries Li,MANISH VRAJLAL SARVAIYA,SELL,132808,150.93,-
18-FEB-2008,CORDSCABLE,Cords Cable Industries Li,PACE FINCAP PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,83035,149.19,-
18-FEB-2008,GDL,Gateway Distriparks Limit,DEUTSCHE SECURITIES MAURITIUS LTD.,SELL,702971,108.76,-
18-FEB-2008,HINDDORROL,Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Ltd,SOMEREST EMERGING OPPRTUNITI FUN,SELL,200000,140.00,-
18-FEB-2008,ITI,ITI Ltd.,RUNNER MARKETING PVT LTD,SELL,267566,44.30,-
18-FEB-2008,JKIL,J.Kumar Infraprojects Lim,DINESH MUNJAL,SELL,117086,116.85,-
18-FEB-2008,JKIL,J.Kumar Infraprojects Lim,MANISH VRAJLAL SARVAIYA,SELL,429005,114.38,-
18-FEB-2008,JKIL,J.Kumar Infraprojects Lim,NAMAN SECURITIES & FINANCE PVT LTD,SELL,155636,115.55,-
18-FEB-2008,JKIL,J.Kumar Infraprojects Lim,PRASHANT JAYANTILAL PATEL,SELL,179225,114.42,-
18-FEB-2008,KNRCON,KNR Constructions Limited,CPR CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,SELL,155541,161.26,-
18-FEB-2008,KNRCON,KNR Constructions Limited,DEUTSCHE INTERNATIONAL TRUST CORP.(MAURITIUS)LTD A/C MINIVET,SELL,245000,165.97,-
18-FEB-2008,KNRCON,KNR Constructions Limited,R.M. SHARE TRADING PVT LTD,SELL,227540,164.18,-

BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - Feb 18 2008

Deal Date	Scrip Code	Scrip Name	Client Name	Deal Type *	Quantity	Price **
18/2/2008	531400	ALMONDZ GLO	INNOVATE SECURITIES PVT LTD PRO AC	S	100000	70.00
18/2/2008	531541	AVON ORGANI	MACKERTICH CONSULTANCY SERVICES PVT LTD	B	400000	29.28
18/2/2008	531541	AVON ORGANI	VATICAN COMMERCIALS LTD	S	400000	29.28
18/2/2008	505506	AXON INFOTEC	SHEETAL KASHIRAM KADAM	B	4525	52.94
18/2/2008	590059	BIHAR TUBES	SECUROCROP SECURITIES INDIA P	B	51733	134.37
18/2/2008	590059	BIHAR TUBES	MANIBEN UGRABHAI PATEL	B	55000	135.00
18/2/2008	590059	BIHAR TUBES	GOLD LEAF INVESTMENTS PVT LTD	B	90000	135.50
18/2/2008	590059	BIHAR TUBES	SECUROCROP SECURITIES INDIA P	S	56600	135.36
18/2/2008	532941	CORDS CABLE	PACE FINCAP PRIVATE LIMITED	B	75493	148.73
18/2/2008	532941	CORDS CABLE	BHANDARI RAKHI KALPESH	B	127937	150.49
18/2/2008	532941	CORDS CABLE	PACE FINCAP PRIVATE LIMITED	S	75942	148.44
18/2/2008	532941	CORDS CABLE	BHANDARI RAKHI KALPESH	S	127937	149.00
18/2/2008	524388	CRAZY INFOTE	HANS CAPITAL AND LEASING PVT LTD	B	44500	40.20
18/2/2008	531137	GEMSTONE INV	BHUPESH RATHOD	S	80000	26.55
18/2/2008	532715	GITANJALI GE	DEUTSCHE SECURITIES MAURITIUS LIMITED	B	970000	282.05
18/2/2008	530263	GLOBAL CAP M	CLOCK SIGN TRADING CO. PVT LTD.	S	120000	10.40
18/2/2008	508918	GREYCELLS EN	PRIME SECURITIES LTD	B	16000	219.00
18/2/2008	530117	H.K.FINECHEM	DHIREN S. SHAH	B	110000	17.30
18/2/2008	530117	H.K.FINECHEM	DIPTI D. SHAH	S	110000	17.30
18/2/2008	509627	HINDUS DOR O	SHAIL INVESTMENTS PRIVATE LIMI	B	248499	140.00
18/2/2008	532100	INDOCITY INF	SHASHI ANIL JAIN	B	100000	5.70
18/2/2008	523062	J J FINANCE	MANOJ KUMAR AGARWAL	S	15000	9.55
18/2/2008	530885	JAISAL SECUR	FATHIMUNNISA INVESTMENT P LTD	B	24724	57.90
18/2/2008	516078	JUMBO BAG LT	OM PRAKASH BANGA	B	50000	39.22
18/2/2008	512413	KHAITAN WVG	GIRIRAJ STOCK AND SECURITIES PVT LTD	B	13000	60.30
18/2/2008	512413	KHAITAN WVG	BHAROSEMAND COMMODITIES PVT LTD	B	6550	60.30
18/2/2008	512413	KHAITAN WVG	KALYANI BARTER PVT LTD	S	17000	60.30
18/2/2008	531413	KIRAN PRIN P	NIKUNJ ALLOYS AND STEEL PRIVATE LIMITED	S	100000	5.01
18/2/2008	501209	MAST MEDI SY	MAVI INVESTMENT FUND LTD	B	25000	60.00
18/2/2008	531834	NATURA HUE C	SHREEJI SECURITIES	S	92850	19.35
18/2/2008	531273	RADHE DEVELO	BIBHAS BHAGWANDAS ASAR	B	51384	104.15
18/2/2008	522207	RASAND ENG I	MACKERTICH CONSULTANCY SERVICES PVT LTD	B	43000	96.25
18/2/2008	522207	RASAND ENG I	VATICAN COMMERCIALS LTD	S	43000	96.25
18/2/2008	507998	SIMMOND MARS	CHETAN N SHAH	B	11650	77.20
18/2/2008	530155	TONIRA PHARM	IPCA LABORATORIES LIMITED	B	70181	26.96

Post Session Commentary - Feb 18 2008

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 113 points at 18,228, and touched a high of 18,257 in early deals. The index, however, could not hold gains as profit-taking at higher levels saw the index slip into negative zone.

Profit-taking was seen mostly in technology, oil & gas and realty stocks. The index dropped to a low of 17,901 - down 356 points from the day's high - in mid-noon trades.

A fresh round of buying in FMCG scrips - Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and ITC - helped the index recover some loss and eventually end with a loss of 67 points at 18,048.

The index had gained around 1,500 points in the last three trading days last week.

The BSE Realty index dropped 2.8% to 10,207, and the IT index slipped 1.3% to 3,829. The FMCG index, howver, gained 2.3% at 2,258.

The NSE Nifty slipped 26 points to close at 5,277 today.

The BSE market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,772 stocks traded, 1,848 advanced and 874 declined today.

INDEX SHAKERS...

Satyam plunged nearly 3% to Rs 426. TCS slipped over 2% to Rs 852, and Wipro shed 1.5% at Rs 414.

Tata Motors tumbled 2.5% to Rs 733. DLF, BHEL and SBI slipped 2% each to Rs 860, Rs 2,216 and Rs 2,255, respectively.

Reliance dropped 1.5% to Rs 2,552, and ONGC was down over 1% at Rs 1,021.

...AND THE MOVERS

Mahindra & Mahindra rallied 4% to Rs 643. Hindalco soared over 3% to Rs 184.

ITC surged 3.3% to Rs 210, and HUL moved up 2.5% to Rs 217.

ICICI Bank advanced 1.4% to Rs 1,208. Bajaj Auto was up over 1% at Rs 2,200.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

Reliance Power topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 472 crore followed by Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 376 crore), Essar Oil (Rs 166.50 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 158.60 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (Rs 153.60 crore).

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart with trades of around 2.66 crore shares followed by Ispat Industries (2.22 crore), Reliance Power (1.13 crore), Nagarjuna Fertilisers (99.25 lakh) and Himachal Futuristic (93.70 lakh).

Rural Electrification Corporation IPO

Rural Electrification Corporation IPO

HBL Power Systems

HBL Power Systems

Weekly Technical Outlook

Weekly Technical Outlook

Post Market Commentary - Feb 18 2008

The market closed on a negative note as the profit booking across the counters prevailed. The market opened with hand some gains tracking the firm cues from the Asian markets but all of a sudden lost the momentum and fell to pare all its initial gains. The market From there on kept on hovering in the negative territory throughout the trading session. Reliance Power reported as the top turnover from the BSE as the company announced a bonus issue of shares. He company''s board will be meeting on February 24 to consider the ratio on issuing bonus shares. However, the Small Caps and Mid Caps remained in the limelight as most buying was seen from these baskets. From the sectoral front, the Realty index faced heavy selling pressures across the counters. The BSE Sensex closed lower by 67.20 points at 18,048.05 and NSE Nifty slipped by 26 points to close at 5,276.90. The BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap closed higher by 49.40 points and 134.22 points at 7,641.48 and 9,755.35 respectively.

BSE Metal index closed up by 80.04 points at 16,247.20 as Nalco (7.59%), Sesa Goa (5.87%), Ispat Inds (5.28%), Hindalco Inds (3.14%) closed in green.

BSE Bankex index closed higher by 60.43 points at 10,944.85. Gainers are BOB (3.86%), Axis bank (2.37%), Kotak bank (2.35%), IOB (2.08%), CentBOP (1.60%).

BSE Realty index fell by 290.32 points to close at 10,206.95. Major losers are Phoenix Mill (8.64%), Ansal Infra (7.63%), Mahindra Life (5.04%), Unitech (4%), Indiabull Real (3.09%).

BSE CG fell by 95.65 points to close at 16,322.65 as Alstom Projects (4.95%), BEML (3.28%), Suzlon Ener (2.65%), BHEL (2%), Thermax (1.66%) and L&T (0.80%) closed in red.

BSE Oil & Gas index fell by 96.18 points to close at 11,172.91. Losers are Essar Oil (2.17%), Reliance Inds (1.49%), ONGC (1.21%) and BPCL (0.53%).

BSE IT index decreased by 50.74 points to close at 3,829.24 as NIIT Techno (6.07%), Mosear Baer (4.49%), Karut Net (3.06%), Satyam (2.78%), TCS (2.24%) and Wipro (1.36%) closed lower.

Market Close: Profit booking grips in!

It was a choppy session for Indian markets, to end in flat. Taking cues from Asian markets India started with a gap up of around 100 odd points but could not sustain at days higher level and slipped in to negative zone. However, value buying was seen in small cap stocks which gave positive breath to the markets. Despite periodic attempts of recovery mid-way proceedings remained the indices in negative zone. The profit booking at every recovery under arrest the indices not to enter positive zone. The lack of investor interest was restricted to the frontline stocks to perform. IT, oil, metal and realty are among the top laggard while Reliance pack stocks are the most active stocks on the bourses. Rel power was in lime light on the back of board meet on Feb 24 to mull bonus issue to all shareholders. Investor?s interest was much seen in mid and small caps which outperformed the front line indices. Asian indices closed a mixed bag while the European is witnessing a positive trend currently.

Sensex ended down by 67 points at 18048.051. Weighing on the Sensex were losses in Satyam (426,-3 percent), Tata Motors (732.55,-2 percent), TCS (851.95,-2 percent), BHEL (2216.2,-2 percent) and SBI (2254.95,-2 percent). Losses were restricted by gains in ITC (209.6,+3 percent), Hindalco (184.1,+3 percent), HLL (216.6,+3 percent), ICICI Bk (1208.1,+1 percent) and Bajaj Auto (2199.8999,+1 percent.

India's biggest non- state iron ore exporter, Sesa Goa Ltd was the star for the day amid hope that the price increase agreed upon by Japanese steelmakers will lead to a hike in the domestic price as well. Asia's three biggest steelmakers agreed to pay 65% more for procuring iron ore from Brazilian mining major CIA. Vale do Rio Doce, setting a global benchmark for the key raw material. Iron ore prices will rise for a sixth year in a row to a record on the back of strong demand from China, boosting earnings. Sesa Goa is well positioned to ride the current boom in the iron-ore market on the back of an output of approx 10mtpa, which it is planning to increase to 15mtpa over the next three years. The company has access to resource & reserves of approx 207mnte (i.e. 20 years of mining life) of iron ore. Stock ended up 6.2%.

Leading automotive player Mahindra & Mahindra have reported that they have signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture with WASS for the manufacture of underwater defence systems in India. The Indian automaker will have a 74% stake in the joint venture with Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) which will develop and make underwater mines, harbour defence systems and torpedoes. Mahindra intends to be a full-service provider to the defence services and the systems would initially be made in Mahindra's facility in Pune in western India, and production would be moved to the eastern city of Vishakhapatnam in two to three years. With this M&M are also in talks with the British defence contractor BAE Systems to jointly develop a mine-protected vehicle which is in pine line in negotiation. Stock ended up 3.5% on the back of news.

Technically Specking: Sensex traded in a narrow range of 200 odd points before ending down by 67 points at 18048. It made intraday high of 18257 and day?s low of 17901. Turnover stood low at Rs 4857 Cr. The breath has been in favor of Advances, where Advances stood at 1850 against the Declines of 878. Sensex Resistance is seen at 18400 while Support lies at 17900. We fell that market will be trading in this range for some more days.

A tame ending to highly volatile session

The market maintained a cautious trend for the straight session, as the Sensex eased marginally at close on selective selling. However, the market was extremely volatile as stocks gyrated sharply, leading to a swing of 357 points during intra-day trades. After resuming 113 points above at 18,228, the Sensex dropped 215 points in early trades on sustained selling to touch the day's low of 17,900. Languishing in negative territory thereafter in the first half, the Sensex steadily erased its losses and rebounded into positive territory in the afternoon trades to edge past the 18,250 mark and touch the intra-day high of 18,256. The Sensex failed to hold on to its steady gains and lost 67 points to close at 18,048, while the Nifty ended 26 points lower at 5,276.

Dragging the Sensex, Satyam lost 2.78% at Rs426, Tata Motors dropped 2.47% at Rs732.55, TCS fell 2.24% at Rs851.95, DLF lost 2.18% at Rs859.80 and BHEL declined 2% at Rs2,216. SBI, Reliance Industries, Wipro and ONGC were down nearly 1% each. However, M&M advanced 4.02% at Rs643.35, ITC scaled up 3.25% at Rs209.60, Hindalco added 3.14% at Rs184.10, Hind Utilites gained 2.56% at Rs216.60, ICICI Bank jumped 1.42% at Rs1,208 and Bajaj Auto was up nearly 1.16% at Rs2,199.

The breadth of the market was positive. Of the 2,772 stocks traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 1,848 stocks advanced, 876 stocks declined and 48 stocks ended unchanged. Of the 11 sectoral indices trading on the BSE, six indices ended in the green and seven slipped into the red. The BSE FMCG index was the major performer on the upside and gained 2.26% at 2,258, while the BSE Bankex index was up around 0.5% at 10,944. In the market which closed on a subdued note, FMCG stocks performed exceptionally well. REl Agro was frozen at the upper limit of 5% at Rs1,290.15, ITC surged 3.25% at Rs209.60 and Nestle shot up by 2.56% at Rs216.60.

Over 2.66 crore RNRL shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Ispat Industries (2.22 crore shares), Reliance Power (1.12 crore shares), Nagarjuna fertilisers (99.23 lakh shares) and HFCL (93.71 lakh shares).

Small-cap, mid-cap indices buck market fall

Breaking a three-day winning streak, the market edged lower today on profit taking. The market failed to sustain higher levels after a firm start. A firm opening was triggered by Reliance Power's surprise announcement on Sunday, 17 February 2008, that it would consider bonus issue. The market was down sharply in afternoon trade but managed to cut losses tracking firm European markets, which opened after Indian markets. The benchmark index, BSE Sensex, dipped below 18,000 mark only to regain that level in mid-afternoon trade.

Reliance Power soared on high volumes. Despite the market fall, the breadth was positive on buying in small-cap and mid-cap stocks. Asian markets were mixed.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 67.20 points or 0.37% at 18,048.05. Sensex lost 214.29 points at the day's low of 17,900.96, hit in afternoon trade. Sensex opened 112.96 points higher at 18,228.21 and advanced to hit a high of 18,256.82 in early trade. At the day's high, Sensex rose 141.57 points.

At current 18,048.05, Sensex trades at a PE multiple of 17.18 to 18.04, based on projected FY 2009 EPS of Rs 1000-to-Rs 1050 for 30 Sensex companies.

The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 26 points or 0.49% at 5,276.90. Nifty February 2008 futures were at 5280.10, a premium of 3.20 points as compared to sport closing

From 16,608.01 on 12 February 2008, Sensex had advanced 1507.24 points or 9.07% in three trading sessions to 18,115.25 o n Friday, 15 February 2008.

The market breadth was positive on BSE: 1,850 shares advanced as compared to 878 that declined. 46 shares remained unchanged. 19 out of 30 Sensex stocks declined.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.65% to 7,641.48 and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.40% to 9,755.35. Both these indices outperfomed the Sensex

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4857 crore as compared to Rs 6,415.18 on Friday, 15 February 2008

Turnover on NSE’s futures & options segment declined to Rs 32416.67 crore from Rs 42675.67 on Friday, 15 February 2008

Reliance Power surged 6.95% to Rs 411.45, off day’s high of Rs 429.60. The counter saw high volumes of 1.12 crore shares on BSE. The company said on Sunday, 17 February 2008, its board would meet on Sunday, 24 February 2008, to decide bonus ratio. The bonus shares will be issued to non-promoter shareholders to compensate the losses suffered by them when the company was listed last week. The stock has been consistently trading at a discount to IPO price of Rs 450, since its listing on 11 February 2008. Meanwhile, the company has also sought an enquiry by the Securities & Exchange Board of India, the market regulator, into the decline in shares.

Sectoral indices on BSE displayed mixed trend. The the BSE Consumer Durables index (up 0.04% to 4,708.56), the BSE PSU index (up 0.24% to 8,572.39), the BSE Auto (up 0.43% at 4,789.13), the BSE FMCG index (up 2.26% at 2,258.26), the BSE Health Care index (down 0.37% at 3,678.31), the BSE Metal index (up 0.50% to 16,247.20), and the BSE Bankex (up 0.56% at 10,944.85), outperformed the Sensex

The BSE Capital Goods index (down 0.58% at 16,322.65), BSE Oil & Gas index (down 0.85% to 11,172.91), the BSE Power (down 0.42% to 3,752.87), the BSE Realty index (down 2.77% at 10,206.95), the BSE IT (down 1.31% to 3,829.24), the BSE TecK index (down 0.56% to 3,332.73), underperformed the Sensex

India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 1.65% to Rs 2548 on 4.51 lakh shares. The stock moved in a range of Rs 2537.40 and Rs 2650 so far during the day.

India’s top truck marker in terms of sales, Tata Motors slipped 2.56% to Rs 732.10 on 1.29 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack.

India’s largest public sector engineering company in terms of profit, Bharat Heavy Electricals dropped 1.75% to Rs 2222 despite reports the company has bagged an order worth Rs 650 crore from General Electricity Company, Libya for setting up a 300 megatwatt gas turbine based power plant. The stock hit a high of Rs 2280 in intra-day trade.

India’s largest private sector engineering company in terms of outstanding order book position, Larsen & Toubro slipped 0.90% to Rs 3505. The company said on Monday, 18 February 2008, it has bagged an order worth Rs 1250 crore from Oil & Natural Gas Corporation.

State Bank of India (down 2.10% to Rs 2250), Reliance Energy (down 1.38% to Rs 1685.95), and DLF (down 2.38% to Rs 858), were the other losers from Sensex pack.

Mahindra & Mahindra, the country’s top tractor maker in terms of sales, extended gains in late trade. It advanced 3.48% to Rs 640. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack. Mahindra & Mahindra today said that Mahindra Defence Systems, a group company, is in talks with WASS for underwater defense joint venture. Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) makes high mobility and light bullet proof vehicles to the armed forces, paramilitary and police forces.

India’s top cigarette manufacturer in terms of sales, ITC staged a sharp rally in late trade. The stock was down for most part of the day but settled with gain of 3.45% to Rs 210.

Bajaj Auto, the country’s second largest bike maker in terms of sales, gained 1.16% to Rs 2200 after the Madras High Court on Saturday, 16 February 2008, restrained TVS Motor Company from manufacturing and selling 125 cc ‘Flame’ motorcycle by using the technology/invention described in the patent granted to Bajaj Auto. TVS Motor Company was down 2.88% to Rs 38.85.

ICICI Bank (up 1.67% to Rs 1211), Hindustan Unilever (up 2.32% to Rs 216.10), and Hindalco Industries (up 3.08% to Rs 184) were the other gainers from Sensex pack.

IT pivotals were subdued. Infosys Technologies (down 0.95% to Rs 1550), TCS (down 2.46% to Rs 850.10), Wipro (down 0.94% to Rs 416.30), and Satyam Computers (down 2.51% to Rs 427), edged lower

Sugar stocks rose on fresh buying. Bajaj Hindustan rose 9.84% to Rs 264.60, Balrampur Chini Mills gained 7.52% to Rs 97.25 and Shree Renuka Sugars advanced 11.30% to Rs 1002.

Reliance Power topped the turnover chart with a turnover of Rs 472 crore followed by Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 376 crore), Essar Oil (Rs 166.50 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 158.60 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (Rs 153.60 crore), in that order.

Reliance Natural Resources led the volume chart clocking volumes of 2.66 crore shares followed by Ispat Industries (2.22 crore shares), Reliance Power (1.13 crore shares), Nagarjuna Fertilisers (99.25 lakh shares) and Himachal Futuristic Communications (93.70 lakh shares), in that order.

Among the side counters, Panasonic Carbon (up 18.61% to Rs 137), J Kumar Infraprojects (up 18.38% to Rs 118.85), Dish TV (up 20% to Rs 19.95), Wire & Wireless India (up 14.53% to Rs 54), and Praj Industries (up 12.95% to Rs 191) surged.

Provogue India (down 13.02% to Rs 920), Phoenix Mills (down 8.18% to Rs 414.35), Geodesic Information Systems (down 9.35% to Rs 181.05), Ansal Infrastructure (down 7.97% to Rs 215.40) and Mastek (down 6.10% to Rs 248.90), slipped

KNR Constructions settled at Rs 154.35 on BSE, a discount of 9.20% over IPO price of Rs 170. The stock debuted at Rs 180, a premium of 5.8% over the IPO price. The stock hit a low of Rs 155.65 and high of Rs 199. On BSE, 57.56 lakh shares changed hands in the counter.

Disa India galloped 20% to Rs 1826.25 after the company’s board of directors at its meeting held on 16 February 2008 recommended a dividend of 2000% or Rs 200 per share in the year ended December 2007.

Unitech declined 4.14% to Rs 399.90 despite the West Bengal government giving possession of 12,500 acres of land at Nayachar Island, near Haldia, in the state to the developer PCR Chemicals.

Educomp Solutions slipped 2.30% to Rs 4068 on reports the company plans to invest up to Rs 800 crore to set up 150 schools in the next four years.

DMC International rose 4.81% to Rs 21.80 after a group company Swen Realty & Media entered into an agreement with Global Infocom to acquire an online portal.

Kalindee Rail Nirman Engineers rose 1.76% to Rs 425 after the company said its board will meet on 18 February 2008 to consider raising Rs 150 crore by issue of equity to qualified institutional buyers.

Ramco Systems gained 3.13% to Rs 145 after the company launch of India's first full-fledged Software-as-a-Service enterprise resources planning tool viz. Ramco OnDemand ERP.

European markets, which opened after Indian markets, extended early gains. Key benchmark indices in United Kingdom (up 1.89% to 5,896.70), Germany (up 1.70% to 6,948.61), and France (up 1.56% to 4,846.36), advanced.

Asian markets, which opened before Indian markets were mixed today, 18 February 2008. Japan's Nikkei (up 0.09% at 13,635.40), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted index (up 0.18% at 7,890.90), South Korea's Seoul Composite index (up 0.09% at 1,696.24), and China’s Shanghai Composite index (up 1.58% to 4,568.51), edged higher. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng (down 1.61% at 23,759.25) and Singapore's Straits Times index (down 0.78% at 3,064.65), declined.

US markets ended Friday’s, 15 February 2008 trade on mixed note after economic reports offered bleak views on everything from manufacturing to consumer sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 28.77 points, or 0.23%, to 12,348.21. The S&P 500 index gained 1.13 points, or 0.08%, to 1,349.99. The Nasdaq Composite index was down 10.74 points, or 0.46%, to 2,321.80.

India's wholesale price index rose 4.07% in the 12 months to 2 February 2008, marginally lower than the previous week's rise of 4.11%, government data released on Friday, 15 February 2008 showed

Shriram EPC Allotment Status

Shriram EPC Allotment Status can be checked here

EXCLUSIVE! - Cholamandalam DBS

EXCLUSIVE! - Cholamandalam DBS

Pre Market Watch - Feb 18 2008

The Indian Market is likely to have a positive opening due to favoring cues from the global markets. On Friday, the market closed on a firm note by posting good gains. The market opened on weak note but the market got the momentum towards the mid session to pare all its initial losses. The market also got the momentum as the India''s wholesale price index rose 4.07% in the 12 months to 2 February 2008, marginally lower than 4.11% last week. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 348.62 points at 18,115.25 and NSE Nifty grew by 100.9 points to close at 5,302.90. We expect that the market may trade higher during the trading session. From the stock specific, Reliance Power may gain investors confidence as the company is planning to come out with bonus issue of shares.

On Friday, the US market closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed lower by 28.77 points at 12,348.21. Nasdaq fell by 10.74 points to close at 2321.80 and S&P 500 index closed higher by 1.13 points to close at 1,349.99.

Indian ADRS ended mixed. In technology sector, Satyam grew by (2.75%) while Wipro fell by (2.12%) along with Infosys by (0.94%). In banking sector, ICICI bank and HDFC bank increased by (2.04%) and (0.60%) respectively.

The major stock markets in Asia are trading firm. Japan''s Nikkei is trading higher by 174.72 points at 13,797.28 along with Hang Seng is trading up by 152.01 points at 24,300.44 and Taiwan Weighted is trading at 7,924.54 up by 48.17 points.

The FIIs on Friday stood as net seller in equity while the net buyer in debt. The gross equity purchased was Rs2,572.30 Crore and the gross debt purchased was Rs4,513.50 Crore while the gross equity sold stood at Rs3,755.50 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs2,132.80 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity reported was (Rs1,183.10 Crore) and net debt was Rs2,380.70 Crore.

Today, Nifty has support at 5,226 and resistance at 5,407 and BSE Sensex has support at 17,912 and resistance at 18,513.

Market may head higher

The market may head higher as the sentiment may be boosted after Reliance Power,, on Sunday evening 17 February 2008, announced bonus issue for its shareholders to compensate the losses they suffered when the company was listed a week ago. The company’s board will meet on Sunday, 24 February 2008, to decide bonus ratio. Most Asian markets were trading higher today.

Most Asian markets were trading higher today, 18 February 2008. Japan's Nikkei (up 1.28% at 13,797.28), Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 0.63% at 24,300.44), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted index (up 0.61% at 7,924.54), Singapore's Straits Times index (up 0.46% at 3,103.01). However South Korea's Seoul Composite index slipped 0.06% at 1,693.75

US markets ended Friday’s, 15 February 2008 trade on mixed note after economic reports offered bleak views on everything from manufacturing to consumer sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 28.77 points, or 0.23%, to 12,348.21. The S&P 500 index gained 1.13 points, or 0.08%, to 1,349.99. The Nasdaq Composite index was down 10.74 points, or 0.46%, to 2,321.80.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 348.62 points or 1.96% at 18,115.25 on Friday, 15 February 2008. The broader CNX S&P Nifty was up 100.90 points or 1.94% at 5302.90 for the day.

The market ended its four week loosing streak to posting gains for the week ended Friday, 15 February 2008 as global markets rallied following an unexpected rise in US retail sales in January 2008. The BSE Sensex surged 650.36 points or 3.72% to 18,115.25 in the week ended Friday, 15 February 2008. S&P CNX Nifty rose 182.55 points or 3.56% to 5,302.90 in the week.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 261.20 crore on Friday, 15 February 2008. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of shares worth Rs 138.66 crore on that day.

FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 174.42 crore in the futures & options segment on Friday, 15 February 2008. They were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 205.57 crore and sold index options worth Rs 5.29 crore. They were net sellers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 40.30 crore and bought stock options worth Rs 14.44 crore.

India's wholesale price index rose 4.07% in the 12 months to 2 February 2008, marginally lower than the previous week's rise of 4.11%, government data released on Friday, 15 February 2008 showed.

Grey Market - V-Guard, Rural Electrification

Rural Electrification 90 to 105 24 to 26


GSS America InfoTech 400 to 440 Discount


On Mobile Global 440 20 to 25


Bang Overseas 207 7 to 10


Shri Ram EPC 300 Discount


IRB Infra 185 12 to 15


Manjushree Extrusion 45 5 to 7


Tulsi Extrusions 85 10 to 15


V. Guard Ind. 80 to 85 8 to 10

KNR Constructions Listing

KNR Constructions will list today. Grey Market Price is at a discount - However, looking at the firm market, it may recover on listing

Daily Call - Feb 18 2008

Daily Call - Feb 18 2008

Morning call - Feb 18 2008

Market Grape Wine :

Out House :

Markets at a support of 17786 & 17917 levels with resistance at 18282 & 18491 levels .

Buy : RIL & RelCap

Buy : JSW & Sail

Buy : SBIN & IciciBank

Buy : Titan & Neyvelli

Buy : MRPL & EssarOIL

Buy : IBullsReal & Ibulls

Buy : Hdfc & HdfcBank

Buy : Bharti & Adalbs

Dark Horse : RPower , RELCAP , Adlabs , EssarOIL , Neyvelli , RIL , Sbin , & Aban

Trading Calls - Feb 18 2008

Nifty 5303 Sup 5200 Res 5450

Buy Canara Bank (305) SL 300 Target 315, 317

Buy Gail (428) SL 423
Target 438, 441

Buy Sesa Goa (3153) SL 3130 Target 3190, 3200

Buy Bharat Forge (286) SL 282 Target 294, 297

Sell NIIT Tech (128) SL 132 Target 120, 118

The power of hope!

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be. – Thomas Jefferson.

A week after its disappointing listing, there is some hope for Reliance Power investors. In a desperate attempt to boost investor confidence and shore up the Ambani brand, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group is using all the power available. A board meeting on Feb 24 will consider issue of bonus shares to all investors, excluding the promoters
We see a positive opening today on the back of a firm trend across Asian markets. Wall Street emerged unscathed despite some negative news. However, other world markets actually closed in the red on bleak US economic reports. This week may be critical for the bulls. It remains to be seen if they can continue the momentum of last week or will cave in once again to any fresh onslaught from the bears.

Among other news, UTV will make a strategic announcement with a large media entity later today. Meanwhile, reports suggest that US media giant Disney is keen on raising its stake in the Indian entertainment and media company.

Ess Dee Aluminium will also be in action amid reports that it is likely to acquire India Foils from the Anil Agarwal promoted Madras Aluminium. Canara Bank is also expected to do well as the RBI has allowed fresh buying by overseas investors.

TVS Motor will be on the backfoot after the Madras High Court restrained the company from making and selling the 125 cc bike, Flame. The court passed the order on a suit filed by Bajaj Auto.

Sesa Goa is likely to gain amid reports that Japanese steelmakers, led by Nippon Steel Corp., have reportedly agreed to a 65% increase in annual iron ore prices. Shares of KNR Constructions Ltd. will get listed on the bourses today.

The bulls showed admirable resilience last week after a week start. The Sensex and the Nifty gained more than 3.5% each, buoyed by short-covering and a rebound in global equity markets. The recovery process may continue in the lead up to the budget.

Last week's rally was led mainly by short covering. The key indices have to sustain the positive momentum for a few more days to qualify the current rally as a fresh intermediate up-trend. Though the sell-off by the FIIs has tapered off, the same may resume on any fresh bad news on the US economy.

Remember the proverb 'one swallow doesn't make a summer'. Be careful in interpreting last week's rebound, lest one will have to repent later. Wait for some more positive signals before jumping to any conclusions regarding the market's direction. At the same time, long-term investors may consider picking up quality stocks at current levels, albeit at a gradual pace.

Next week will again be a big one, as the Government will announce the Railway Budget and Union Budget for FY09. Historically, our market witnesses a small pre-budget rally. This hasn't been the case so far due to global concerns. The tradition may resume as we still have a few days to go before the B-day. But, for that to happen, we should not get any further bad news from the US, which is a bit too much to ask for given the outlook for the world's biggest economy.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs2.61bn (provisional) in the cash segment on Friday. Local institutions were net buyers of Rs1.39bn. In the F&O segment, FIIs were net buyers of Rs1.74bn. On Thursday, foreign funds pulled out Rs11.83bn from the cash segment.

Most Asian markets are trading up this morning despite the fresh set of negative economic reports emanating from the US. The Nikkei in Tokyo was up 174 points at 13,797 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 248 points to 24,396. The Kospi in Seoul added 17 points to 1711 and the Straits Times in Singapore rose 30 points to 3118. The Shanghai Composite in China was up 50 points at 4548 and the Taiex in Taiwan gained 87 points at 7963.

US stocks ended lower on Friday but managed to register weekly gains after declines in US consumer confidence and factory activity in the New York region revived worries about the threat of a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 28.8 points, or 0.2%, to 12,348.2, giving the blue-chip index a weekly jump of 1.4%. The S&P 500 reversed course in the final moments of trade, to finish mostly flat at 1,349.99, a gain of 1.4% from the prior week.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 10.74 points, or 0.5%, to 2,321.8, giving the technology-laden index a 0.7% rise on the week.

Trading was fairly quiet ahead of the long holiday weekend. All financial markets in the US will be shut on Monday for the Presidents' Day holiday. On Tuesday, reports are due on consumer prices, housing starts and building permits. Also, quarterly earnings are due from Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard.

The New York Empire State index, a regional manufacturing report, showed a surprise reading of -11.7 versus forecasts for a positive reading of 7. A negative reading suggests contraction in the sector.

In addition, the University of Michigan's February consumer sentiment index showed a bigger-than-forecast drop to 69.6 from 78.4 in the previous month. Economists had forecast a fall to 76.5.

Industrial production almost stagnated, according to another government report that showed flat capacity utilization in January. And finally, January import and export prices jumped from the previous month, according to another report.

FGIC Corp., one of the largest bond insurers in the world, asked to be split in two, possibly separating its municipal bond business from more troubled exposures that have been hit hard by the mortgage crisis.

Leading US electronics retailer Best Buy cuts its full-year earnings forecast, citing weaker-than-expected revenue growth in January.

Market breadth was negative. On the NYSE, decliners beat advancers 9 to 7 on volume of 1.5bn shares. On the Nasdaq, losers beat winners 9 to 5 on volume of 2.03bn shares.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.78% from 3.8% late on Thursday. In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the yen and euro. US light crude oil for March delivery rose 4 cents to settle at $95.50 a barrel in New York.

Gold futures ended lower. Gold for April delivery dropped $4.70 to end at $906.10 an ounce.

Platinum futures extended their record-breaking run, spurred by persistent worries about supply disruptions in South Africa. Platinum for April delivery soared as high as $2,079.90 an ounce, beating the previous record set on Thursday. The contract finished up $57.80 at $2,063.70 an ounce. Platinum futures soared $179.70, or nearly 10%, this week from last Friday's closing level of $1,884.

Stocks in Europe closed sharply lower. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index dropped 1.9% to 317.46. The UK's FTSE 100 shed 1.5% to 5,791.20, the French CAC-40 fell 1.9% to 4,767.28 and the German DAX 30 slid 1.8% to 6,835.18.

Most emerging markets too ended in the red. The Bovespa in Brazil was down 0.9% to 61,271 while the IPC index in Mexico fell 1.35% to 28,744. The RTS index in Russia slipped 1.8% to 1989 while the ISE National-30 index in Turkey plunged nearly 3% to 55,322.

Not another manic Monday

On Friday bulls extended their gains to third straight trading session tracking firm cues from the Asian and European markets also buying momentum in the large cap stocks towards the end lifted the nifty index to close above the 5,300 mark. Finally, the 30-share Sensex closed at 18,115 surging 348 points. The NSE Nifty closed at 5,302 adding 100 points.

Overall about 1,988 stocks advanced, 759 stocks declined while 46 stocks remained unchanged. Among the BSE 30 index 25 stocks advanced while 5 stocks declined.

Igarashi Motors rallied by over 13% to Rs77 after the company announced that it agreed to venture with Robert Bosch. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs78 and a low of Rs68 and recorded volumes of over 86,000 shares on NSE.

Refinery stocks continue to be in demand as Government hiked petrol and diesel prices by Rs2 per litre and Re1 per litre respectively. IOC surged by 4.5% to Rs561, HPCL gained 3.5% to Rs309 and BPCL added 1% to Rs469.

Telecom stocks also ended with gains. Report stated that DOT planned to change spectrum usage charges levied on telecom companies, to a fix percentage of revenue for each category circles. Rcom gained 0.5% to Rs612, Bharti Airtel gained 0.6% to Rs882, Idea advanced 3.5% to Rs112 and Tata Communication added 1.1% to Rs508.

Hanung Toys gained 3% to Rs204 after the company announced that it opened their first Retail store for soft toys in Delhi on February 14, 2008. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs209 and a low of Rs191 and recorded volumes of over 12,000 shares on NSE.

Bhushan Steel was down 0.3% to Rs1035. The company announced that it proposed to execute MOU with wholly owned Undertaking / Govt. of Madhya Pradesh for setting up manufacturing facilities in the state of Madhya Pradesh for 1 MTPA Coke Oven Plant and 5 MTPA Cement Plant, with the total investment of approximately Rs40bn in phases. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1055 and a low of Rs988 and recorded volumes of over 43,000 shares on NSE.

Cadila gained 1.7% to Rs251 after the company announced that it introduced an NDDS product 'Nudoxa' for the treatment of various cancers. One of the critical drugs used in chemotherapy, Nudoxa heralds a new approach in cancer therapy. With chemotherapy being a common mode of treatment in cancers, there has been a long standing need for a drug that is stable and long lasting with reduced toxicity and side effects. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs254 and a low of Rs245 and recorded volumes of over 6,000 shares on NSE.

News Snippets:

Coal India would have to spend Rs18bn for import of 200mn tons of coal in the 11th plan.(BS)

Jindal Power, a subsidiary of the BC Jindal group, plans 4,500MW generation capacity in four years.(BS)

Gammon India sets up a logistics company and plans to invest Rs3bn in the first year.(Mint)

Ambuja Cements to invest Rs35bn on capacity expansions; total production capacity seen at 25mn tons pa in two years.(TOI)

Reliance Industries has completed 94% of drilling for production of natural gas from its KG-D6 block.(ET)

Jindal Saw would invest Rs3.5bn to expand its seamless tube business.(DNA)

NTPC to expand generation capacity to 55,000MW by end of 11th plan; aims to produce 75,000MW by 2017.(BL)

Rural Electrification Corp seeks a partner an infrastructure firm to enter electricity distribution.(ET)

The Government withdraws the facility to SBI to use its rights issue bonds for meeting the mandatory SLR requirements.(FE)

Canada has asked a Ranbaxy subsidiary to withdraw its generic painkiller from the market due to safety concerns.(BS)

Tech Reliance, the IT arm of Reliance Communications is likely to have an alliance with Accenture.(DNA)

Tata Advance Systems forms an alliance with EADS to bid for Indian Army’s US$1bn advanced tactical communications systems.(FE)

Emami may acquire an overseas firm in the hair care segment for Rs6bn.(DNA)

Tata group has tied-up with US helicopter firm Sikorsky to manufacture chopper cabins in India.(TOI)

L&T Infotech, the IT arm of L&T, says would acquire a US firm in the manufacturing vertical for US$300mn within a year.(BL)

GAIL India studying the possibility of floating a subsidiary to set up CNG outlets along the highways where it has its pipelines.(BS)

Maharashtra Seamless will set up billet plant.(DNA)

Shell to expand capacity of its LNG import terminal at Hazira to 3.5mn tons over the next few months.(FE)

Hindustan Construction Company and Dabur plan to foray into wine business.(TOI)

Canara Bank plans to foray into broking business.(ET)

Binani Cement acquires a plant in Dubai.(BL)

Economic Front Page

Government says the issue of granting of SLR status to oil bonds under consideration.(FE)

CMIE revises down GDP growth estimate to 8.9% for FY08 from 9.1%.(BL)

Drug price regulator to focus on pricing trends of 74 bulk drugs that come under government notified price controlled list.(BS)

Auction of telecom spectrum legally possible, says Finance Ministry.(BL)

Income Tax department suggests differential dividend distribution tax on companies in its pre budget suggestions to CBDT.(BS)

Finance Ministry is planning to withdraw the Rs300 per ton export duty on iron pellets.(ET)

The Government is considering a sovereign investment fund with an initial corpus of US$5bn to acquire companies abroad.(ET)

Textiles and apparel exports grew marginally by 1.5% in CY07 as against 9% last year.(BS)

Iron ore exports drop by 2.6% in the eight months to November to 53mn tons.(BL)

The Government is preparing the largest agricultural debt relief package, worth Rs320bn; proposals may be unveiled in forthcoming budget.(Mint)

Sugar production is estimated to have decline by 0.9mn tons in the first quarter of 2007-08.(ET)

The Government will allow companies to raise funds abroad against the value of their investments in shares of listed group companies.(FE)

The Government is likely to review the banking cash transaction tax.(ET)

Commerce Ministry is not in favour of an across-the-board cut in the basic customs duty and has called for selective cuts on certain imported products.(BS)

Today's Pick - Tata Communications

We recommend a buy in Tata Communications from a short-term perspective. It is clearly evident from the charts of this company that it had been on a medium-term uptrend between August 2007 and early January 2008 (from a low of Rs 360 to a 52-week high of Rs 783). However, the stock reversed direction from this peak and has been on a downtrend since then. This downtrend got arrested around Rs 450 level, recently. Supported by positive divergence in the daily momentum indica tor, the stock is currently in a short-term up-trend since the trough at Rs 450. The daily momentum indicator has entered the neutral region from the bearish zone and the weekly momentum indicator has bounced up from 40 levels. We notice a crossover in the daily moving average convergence divergence, which indicates establishment of bullishness. We are bullish on the stock in the short-term. We expect it to continue further to our target price of Rs 595 in the short-term. Investors with a short-term perspective can buy the stock with stop loss at Rs 445.

Via Businessline

Precious metals end week down

Gold prices fall as sellers step in before extended holiday weekend

Bullion metals ended lower on Friday, 15 February, 2008. The drop in precious metal prices was mainly witnessed due to the sell-off that was spurred for the early close of many markets on Friday and the close of all markets for the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday, 18 February. Silver prices ended lower for the day.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S. currency. Gold, as a dollar-denominated commodity, suffers from dollar strength.

Comex Gold for April delivery fell $4.7 (0.5%) to close at $906.1 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On 30 January, 2008 prices had hit a high of $941 in the after hours trading. This year, prices have gained 9% till date. In January, prices gained 11%, the highest monthly gain since April 2006.

For the week, gold prices suffered a loss of $16.2/ounce (1.8%). Last week, gold prices closed higher by $8.8 (0.96%) against previous close of $913.5.

Comex Silver futures for March fell by 13.8 cents (0.8%) to $17.118 an ounce. Silver has gained 13.5% in 2008. The metal had climbed 16% in FY 2007. The metal also has gained for seven straight years. In January this year itself, prices climbed 14%.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday after reports showed confidence among U.S. consumers fell to a 16-year low and manufacturing in New York contracted this month for the first time in almost three years.

Gold had been dropping since this week after the Group of Seven officials meeting in Tokyo over the last weekend said they supported the International Monetary Fund's effort sell its gold reserves in order to invest in higher-yielding assets. The IMF is the third largest holder of gold in reserves after the U.S. Federal Reserve and the German central bank.

As per the London-based World Gold Council, the global gold demand dropped to 843 metric tons from 1,013.4 tons in the last three months of 2007. Buyers from India, the world's biggest user, reduced purchases by 64% in the last quarter to 83.9 tons. About 68% of gold demand last year came from jewelers and jewelry use dropped 17% in that time.

Gold might rebound in the coming week on speculation a slowing economy will spur the Federal Reserve to lower borrowing costs in the U.S, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment to the dollar.

Crude ends week 4% higher

Prices are almost $8 more than this month’s low

Crude prices ended higher for the week that ended on Friday, 15 February, 2008. Prices ended higher by $3.7 (4%). Price rose and fell initially earlier in the week but the movement was restricted to one dollar or a little more than that.

Prices rose during the week due to a couple of factors. In the earlier part of the week, threat by Venezuelan President to cut off oil supplies to US and shutdown of a refinery by Valero Energy were the major reasons for this rise. Venezuela is South America's second largest oil producer and one of the world's top exporters to the U.S.

In the second half of the week, price rose after EIA’s weekly inventory report showed that crude stockpiles for last week rose less than expected.

For the week ending Friday, 08 February, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed at $95.5/barrel (higher by $0.5) on the New York Mercantile Exchange for the day. Prices fell to $93.29 during intra day trading. Earlier in February, prices slipped to $87/barrel.

As per the weekly inventory report by EIA on Wednesday, U.S. crude inventories rose for a fifth week, up 1.1 million barrels to 301.1 million barrels in the week ending 8 February. Market was expecting a rise of 2 million barrels. U.S. crude imports averaged 9.7 million barrels per day last week, down 777,000 barrels per day from the previous week. U.S. refineries operated at 85.1% of their operable capacity last week, up from the previous week's 84.3%.

In a monthly report released this week, EIA said the world oil market is poised to ease over the next two years with production increases offsetting moderate growth in oil demand.

Last week, two ministers of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) hinted that the cartel might go for a production cut in its next meeting at March, 2008. At its 1 February meeting at Vienna, OPEC members decided to keep current output levels unchanged.

An eventful week for US Market

Market manages to eke out some gains despite cautious comments coming from Fed Chairman

Lots of events dominated the US during the week that ended on Friday, 15 February, 2008. But the best part was that indices registered gains for the week after, each shedding more than 4% last week. Market closed higher in the first three days of the week but slipped in the later two.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 166 points for the week. Tech - heavy Nasdaq gained 17 points. S&P 500 added 18.7 points.

On Monday, 11 February, it was reported that effective 19 February, 2008, Bank of America and Chevron will be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average in place of Altria Group and Honeywell respectively. But on that very day, another Dow component AIG led to Dow’s downslide.

AIG was a major drag on the market on Monday after the company clarified its prior disclosures regarding CDOs saying that it has yet to determine the decline in value of its portfolio, and is still accumulating market data to update its valuation. The stock slipped by 12% and Dow would have ended the day higher, if not for AIG.

But the biggest news of the week was on Tuesday, 12 February, when it came to light that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has made an offer to several flagging bond insurers. Berkshire Hathaway has sent an offer to reinsure the municipal bond holdings of Ambac, MBIA and FGIC. Berkshire offered to take a liability of $800 billion, adding $5 billion of its resources. Berkshire pledged there would be no distribution or management fees taken for 10 years. Dow ended the day higher by more than 100 points.

On 13 February, Wednesday, good earnings reports and encouraging retail sales data help market close higher for third straight day. The Dept. of Commerce said January retail sales grew by 0.3%, and also grew by 0.3% excluding autos. Market was in fact expecting a decrease of 0.3% for retail sales, and rise of 0.2% when excluding autos. With regard to earnings, Coca-Cola and Applied Materials topped expectations. Dow and Nasdaq ended the day higher by 179 points and 54 points respectively.

On Thursday, 14 February, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke expressed his worries about the US economy in the near term. Though market opened modestly higher in the morning, sellers took position quite soon after Bernanke’s testimony.

Bernanke alluded to the possibility the U.S. is nearing a recession and continued to emphasize downside risks to the economy. He clearly indicated that the Fed will likely continue to ease interest rates, if required. The Fed Chairman stated that financial companies will likely face further write-downs. Market ended its winning steak and market gave up all of its Wednesday’s gains.

On Friday, 15 February, market once again ended lower after a couple of disappointing economic reports and cautious guidance. Best-Buy lowered its 2008 forecast, as the Minneapolis-based electronics retailer cited soft customer traffic in January. The disappointing economic reports included lowest reading in a New York region manufacturing survey since May 2003 and the lowest consumer sentiment reading reported by the University of Michigan since February 1992.

Though Dow was more than 100 points down earlier during the day, it managed to shed off most of its loss while going into close. A buying spree in the financial sector helped market in making this turnaround.

Yahoo's board met over last weekend and concluded that the $44.6 billion offer from Microsoft "substantially undervalues" the company and "is not in the best interests" of the company and its shareholders.

On the economic front during the week, Jobless claims report for the week ended 9 February came in. The figure fell to 348K from the previous reading of 357K. The number was basically in-line with expectations. Separately, the December trade deficit fell to $58.8 billion from $63.1 billion.

Executive Summary

For the week, indices registered modest gains. DJIx and S&P 500, each closed up by almost 1.4%. Nasdaq closed up by 0.75%. Market closed higher during the first three days of the week, but closed lower in the last two days. Crude prices ended the week almost 4% higher.

After gaining for three straight days, market ended with losses on Thursday after Bernanke alluded to the possibility that the U.S. is nearing a recession and continued to emphasize downside risks to the economy. He clearly indicated that the Fed will likely continue to ease interest rates, if required. Other than that, a couple o discouraging economic reports took out some steam from the market on Friday.

For the year, Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 are down by 7%, 12.5% and 8% respectively. The market is closed Monday, 18 February in observance of Presidents Day.

Oil Price Hike

Oil Price Hike

Reliance Industries

Reliance Industries

India IT Sector

India IT Sector

India Banking Sector

India Banking Sector

Weekly Track - Feb 18 2008

Weekly Track - Feb 18 2008

Weekly Technicals - Feb 18 2008

Weekly Technicals - Feb 18 2008

V-Guard Industries IPO Review

Ppromoted by Kochouseph Chittilappily, V-Guard Industries manufactures and markets voltage stabilisers under the brand name, V-Guard. The product basket includes insulated electrical cables (for housing and industrial users), electric pumps, water heaters, solar water heaters, uninterrupted power suppliers (UPS) and fans. All the products are marketed und the V-Guard brand. The company has discontinued marketing water-level controllers, wall clocks, electric motor starters and water purifiers. About 42% of the revenue came from voltage stabilisers, 20% from cables, 19% from pumps, 7% from electric water heaters, 4% from solar water heaters, and 3% each from fans and UPS in the year ended March 2007 (FY 2007).

With a well-established position in south India, V-Guard Industries recently ventured into Maharashtra, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarpradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan

Located at Comibatore in Tamilnadu, the facilities to build cables has a capacity to manufacture 1,38,000 coils per month of standard length of 90 meters. The remaining products are largely sourced from various suppliers and marketed under the V-guard brand. Supplies sourced include voltage stabilisers, pumps, UPS, electric water heaters and fans. These are manufactured to specifications.

To cater to rising demand, a second building-cable manufacturing plant is to be set up at Kashipur in Uttaranchal. It will have a capacity of 2,00,000 coils a month of standard length of 90 metres. Moreover, a low-tension cable manufacturing plant and an enameling plant, with a processing capacity of 100 tonnes, is to be put up at Coimbatore, where the existing building-cable unit is located. Development-cum-pilot plants are to be built at Coimbatore (for pumps) and in Himachal Pradesh (for fans and water heaters). Service and distribution centers are to be put up at strategic locations in India. All the projects are to be commissioned by December 2008. An initial public offer (IPO) will partially fund these expansion plans.

Strengths

The V-Guard brand enjoys strong recall and credibility, specially in south India.

Weakness

A regional player, with over 90% of the revenue (in FY 2007) coming from southern states and Goa. Of this, around 44% is derived from the market in Kerala. As has ventured into the north Indian markets recently, there will be no benefit of the strong brand name for leverage on. Thus, has to face strong competition from established players apart from small players

Valuation

Sales clocked a CAGR of 19% to Rs 222.27 crore in FY 2007 from FY 2003. Pofit after tax posted a CAGR of 29% to Rs 13.50 crore. The reported profit was Rs 18.41 crore in FY 2007,after accounting for an EO income of Rs 4.91 crore on account of profit on sale of investment in two amusement parks at Cochin and Bangalore. The EPS on adjusted net profit excluding EO was Rs 4.5 on post-IPO equity for FY 2007. The five-month annualised EPS for the current year on post-IPO equity works out to Rs 6. On the offer price of Rs 80-Rs 85, the P/E works out 17.8 – 18.9 times FY 2007 earning and 13.3 – 14.1 times latest five-month annualised EPS. Much larger players with much more well known brands like Finolex Cables and Bajaj Electric trade around TTM P/E of 16 times. Numeric Power, leader in UPS, trades at TTM P/E of 11 times.

Reliance Power bonus to drive the market

When Reliance Power announced an initial public offering (IPO), it got attention for its size. The hype and marketing blitz that followed stoked public imagination and when the issue opened, it was sold out in seconds.

Contrary to public expectations though, when it listed, the markets hammered the stock down and the company continued to stay in the headlines. Just when the shock was beginning to settle, in an unprecedented move, Reliance Power has proposed to issue bonus shares to stakeholders in the company.

Seemingly a first for any company in the world that is just about a week old on the stock exchange, the company’s board will meet in Mumbai on February 24 to consider the proposal and decide the bonus ratio. The company, however, will not issue any shares to its promoters, a spokesperson for the group said.
Market veterans say group chairman Anil Ambani took it very personally as the stock markets pounded the scrip. Add to this a few million rattled retail investors and the risk of eroding what ‘Brand Ambani ’ stands for in the stock market . All these reasons, analysts said, are compelling the company to come up with a dramatic plan like issuing a bonus to restore confidence.

Once these bonus shares are issued , the cost of acquiring each share will fall to below Rs 430 for retail investors and Rs 450 for institutional and other categories of investors , a company release said. “Several companies have listed at below their offer price and have done nothing to compensate shareholders ... To that extent, this is a trendsetting move,’’ the spokesperson said.

Usually, companies issue bonus shares from their reserves. But in this case, R-Power is a new entity and has no reserves to fall back on. It will have to use its share premium account to issue the bonus. Of the Rs 11,560 crore mobilized through the recent IPO, roughly Rs 11,300 crore is in the share premium account. How much of this will be utilized will depend on the ratio of shares it will issue as bonus.

Market players, although surprised , are divided on what it means. There is a school of thought which argues that this is the promoters’ way of acknowledging they had overpriced the issue, an argument hotly contested by Reliance Power.

SHOCK THERAPY

Largest IPO in Indian history mobilises Rs 11,560 crore. The issue was priced at Rs 430/share for retail investors and Rs 450 for others. When the bids opened on Jan 15, within 60 seconds it was oversubscribed two times.

Funds committed on Day 1 was a staggering $25 billion or about Rs 1 lakh crore. The IPO closed on Jan 18, with book-size of $190 billion or Rs 7.5 lakh crore. It was subscribed 73 times from 50 lakh applications l Listed on the bourses on Feb 11, opens trading at Rs 548.

Within seconds, falls to Rs 430. Stock hammered in first three sessions, with all-time low of Rs 333 and a high of 599. On listing day, the sensex crashes 834 points. Current price Rs 385, Current market cap Rs 87,000 crore and Total investor wealth lost since listing Rs 1,352 crore

REPL bonus proposal, FIIs, global cues to drive market

MUMBAI: A surprise bonus proposal from the recently-listed Reliance Power is sure to propel market sentiment on Monday. While the global cues are not negative, with the US markets closing flat on Friday, market players are expecting foreign funds to return to the Indian bourses soon. The week would also see the build-up of budget expectations, scheduled during the end of the current month, they said.

On Sunday, RelPower, which was listed on the bourses on February 11 following a highly-subscribed IPO, said it was proposing a bonus issue for non-promoter shareholders and its board would consider the proposal on February 24.

Market players believed this is sure to drive the stock on Monday and is expected to bring it closer to its IPO price of Rs 450 per share from its current price of Rs 385 on the BSE. This particular move coincides with the scheduled opening of the IPO for Rural Electrification Corporation on Tuesday.

On the global markets front, cues are not negative. On Friday, the US markets closed flat and Monday being a holiday there, speculators here could use the extra day to push up shares prices on Monday.

Last week, after two consecutive sessions of fall, the sensex had made a strong recovery in the next three sessions to end 650 points higher on a weekly basis as fears of a severe economic slowdown receded. This, market players believe could bring back the foreign fund managers who have so far this year have mostly been on the selling side.

Institutional dealers and top broking house officials believe unless foreign institutional investors (FIIs) come back to the market, it would be difficult for domestic institutions and retail investors to take the market higher.

Week Ahead - Outlook

Three successive winning sessions has put some heart back in the bulls. The Nifty closed on Friday at 5302.9 points for a week-on-week gain of 3.57 per cent. The Sensex gained somewhat more (+3.72 per cent) closing at 18,115.25 points. The Defty was up 3.58 per cent by the weekend.

Breadth was positive in terms of advances versus declines but volumes remained lacklustre on the recovery. Broader indices had smaller gains. The Midcaps was up merely 0.81 per cent, while the Junior was up 1.91 per cent. The BSE 500 gained 2.62 per cent however, suggesting that some retail investors were in action. Unusually for a week when the market recorded gains, FIIs (until Feb 14) and DIIs (till Feb 13) were net sellers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that both set of "IIs" bought on Friday.

Outlook: The recovery will run into resistance immediately above the current levels but it could climb till the 5400-5550 zone, where it will run into a key resistance. Whether it crosses that level or not will determine the intermediate trend.

Rationale: The intermediate trend has been down since January 9. The bottom on Monday at Nifty 4803 was higher than the panic bottom of 4448 on January 22. This suggests that the intermediate trend could be turning around. However we need a higher top as well to confirm an intermediate reversal and that means the Nifty will have to climb above resistance at 5483 (closing) and ideally, 5545 intra-day at the least.

Counter view: Lack of volume and lack of institutional faith are two factors that could impact the recovery pattern negatively. If the resistance at 5483 is not beaten, the market is likely to continue range-trading with support at 5100-5150 and lower, at 4800-4900.

Bulls & bears: The positive breadth is apparent across the F&O stocks at least. However, we can focus on the stocks where positive price action was accompanied by volume expansion. There were quite a few of these. Capital goods players like ABB and BHEL did well and so did PSU refiners and marketers such as IOC, BPCL and HPCL also received a big boost as did Essar Oil, RPL and RIL. There was a lot of buying in Unitech and DLF. Of the financial majors, ICICI and IDBI generated the most impressive comebacks though SBI and other banking stocks also rose. There was stock-specific investment coming into ACC Adlabs, Hindalco, HUL, Punj Lloyd, Nagarjuna Fertilisers and Tisco, where sectorial moves were less apparent.

MICRO TECHNICALS

Adlabs Films Current Price: 925.4 Target Price: 1,000

Big volumes have backed a move from the 725 level. There's potential for a rise until 1000. There's also a big downside risk. Go long with a stop at 815 and if that is broken, go short with a stop at 880.

BHEL Current Price: 2,263 Target Price: 2,350

A sharp recovery from 1850 has come on higher volumes. If the stock fulfils its projections, it could run till the 2450 level but it's likely to hit severe resistance at 2350 and is unlikely to close above that level. Keep a stop at 2250 and go long.

IDBI Current Price: 120.8 Target Price: 130

Volumes spurted on Friday. The stock has a likely target of 130-135 where it will hit a huge resistance. Keep a stop at 115 and go long. Book some profits at above 125. If it does close above 135, it could have a run up till the 145 level before it hits the next serious resistance.

Punj Lloyd Current Price: 378.5 Target Price: 400

The stock has the potential to climb to somewhere between 400-420. It's generated enough volume to hope for the higher target. In the timeframe of 6 weeks it has a target projection of 470. This will depend on two or three successive closes above the 400 level.

Unitech Current Price: 417.1 Target Price: 445

The stock has jumped from the 300 level with a big volume expansion. It has the potential to rise till 445 before hitting serious resistance and if the volume is maintained, it could go till 510. Keep a stop at 410 and go long.