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Monday, May 26, 2008
Readers Soundoff - What's your solution for the OMCs?
Whats your solution to the Oil Marketing Companies ? Should one bear the proposed Rs 16 hike of petrol prices ? Should the govt reduce the excise duty ?
Suggest the clueless govt to save the oil marketing companies as well as contain inflation
Leave a comment ;-)
Nifty May 2008 futures below 4,900
Reliance Industries May 2008 futures most active
Nifty May 2008 futures were at 4,878.35, a premium of 3.30 points as compared to spot closing of 4,875.05.
Nifty May 2008 futures are set for expiry on Thursday, 29 May 2008. As per reports, rollover of Nifty positions from May 2008 series to June 2008 series stood at 32% and marketwide positions were 18%, as on 23 May 2008.
The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover advanced to Rs 44103.52 crore, as compared to Rs 41,317.97 crore on Friday, 23 May 2008.
Reliance Industries May 2008 futures was at 2528.75, a premium as compared to spot price of 2525.90. It the most active contract with turnover of Rs 839.89 crore.
Cairn India May 2008 futures were at premium at 309.65 compared to the spot price of Rs 308.35.
However Tata Steel May 2008 futures were at discount at 876.50 compared to the spot price of Rs 877.15.
In the cash market, the S&P CNX Nifty lost 71.50 points or 1.45% at 4,875.05
Asian Markets Fall Sharply On The First Day Of The Week
Hang Seng, Shanghai Lead the fall amid of Negative Market
Asian stocks fell stridently on the first day of the week, with automotive shares leading declines in Tokyo after the yen firmed against the dollar, while shares of telecom companies fell in Hong Kong, sending the Hang Seng index lower, amid uncertainty of who will win in the looming telecom-industry reforms.
In Tokyo the markets tumbled down after the yen firmed against the U.S. dollar. The Nikkei 225 declined 2.3% to 13,690.19, while the Topix index fell 2.4% to 1,344.18.
China's Shanghai Composite Index eased 3.1% to 3,364.54 and the Shenzhen Composite Index was off 2.9% to 1,021.57. Australia's S&P ASX/200 was down 1.1% to 5,707 and South Korea's Composite Index gave up 1.5% to 1,800.58.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the morning session 2.4% lower, shedding 587 points to 24,127.31. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, Hong Kong's benchmark for China stocks, was down 3% to 13,221.28.
Taiwan's Weighed Price Index fell 1.4% to 8,707 while Singapore's Straits Times index was down 0.9% to3,093.01; and Malaysia's nudged 0.3% lower at 1,270.97. Thailand's SET Index was down 2.4% and New Zealand's NZX-50 fell 0.4%.
In the afternoon trading India's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, was down by 2.4% to 16,414.81 and the broader S&P/CNX Nifty fell 1.5% to 4,872.95.
Meanwhile the crude oil rose for a second day in New York, after reaching a record last week, as militant attacks in Nigeria and declining output in Mexico increased the potential for supply disruptions.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Nigeria's main militant group, said it attacked a crude-oil pumping station operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Oil output in Mexico, the third-largest supplier to the U.S., for April fell the most in more than 12 years as flows from its largest field declined.
Crude oil for July delivery rose as much as $1.08, or 0.8 percent, to $133.27 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $133.11 at 9:44 a.m. in London.
The July contract closed up $1.38, or 1.1%, to $132.19 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.
In currencies, the yen was quoted at 103.30 against the U.S. dollar, up from 103.35 yen in late New York Friday and 104.04 late Thursday.
The downbeat tone in Asia follows a negative session for U.S. indexes Friday, with shares pressured by a report showing inventories of unsold U.S. homes surged to a 23-year high in April. Market activity remained subdued ahead of the three-day Memorial Day weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 145 points, The S&P 500 index fell 18 points, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 19 points.
European stocks edged lower in thin trade on Monday with markets in the U.K. and the U.S. shut for a holiday. In the morning trade the indices in Germany, France and Switzerland lost about 0.1% each in the morning trade. However at 9.12 GMT the German DAX 30 gained 0.2% to 6,957.02 while the French CAC 40 dropped 0.2% to 4,944.01.
On the economic front there is no significant release scheduled for the day.
Niraj Cement Structurals
Niraj Cement Structurals (NCSL) is a small-sizes construction company focusing on the road segment. It also makes pre-cast paver blocks. Sales of paver-blocks account less than 0.5% of total sales.
The construction contracts business model involves acting as main contractor, contracts through joint venture (JV) and subcontractor. Currently, the order portfolio is spread across Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The proceeds of the issue will be used to fund acquisition of capital equipment worth Rs 20.95 crore and working capital requirement amounting Rs 18.17 crore.
Strengths
The current order book is about Rs 660.29 crore. Out of this, its share of work totals Rs 477.48 crore, which translates to 5 times its FY 2008 revenue. The projects are to be executed over nine to 24 months.
Despite focusing only on the road sector, the operating profit margin was a strong 17.7% in the year ending March 2008 (FY 2008). OPM were 16.7% in FY 2007 and 16.3% in FY 2006. This is way above the normal 8-10% of margin available for players focused on road projects.
Weaknesses
As the focus is solely on road development, lacks diversification in other areas of construction.
In the past, defaulted on payment of interest and repayment of loan to various banks / financial institutions.
Sundry debtors stood at 103.45 crore in FY 2008. This represents about 111.4% of its sales for FY 2008. To fund this, secured and unsecured loans of Rs 18.92 crore and Rs 19.98 crore were raised by March 2007 and Rs 30.86 crore and Rs 58.49 crore by March 2008. The high debts are attributed to delay in receipts from government and also from principal contractors. As a result, interest cost has been racing ahead from 3% of sales in FY 2006 to about 5.5% of sales in FY 2008.
Valuation
Sales grew by 16% in FY 2008. Net profit, however, stood higher by only 2%, limited by higher interest cost and tax incidence. EPS on post-IPO equity stands at Rs 6.3. On the asking price of Rs 175-Rs 190, the PE ratio works out to about 27.8 times FY 2008 earning at the lower price band and 30.2 times at the upper price band. In contrast, peer players such as C & C Construction, Roman Tarmat, PBA Infrastructure, Valecha Engineering trade at 9 to 12 times their trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS.
Silly as it may sound - petrol prices may see huge hike
The government is believed to be considering decontrolling petrol prices, a move that may see rates being hiked by Rs 16-17 a litre, but diesel will continue to be sold at a subsidised price.
The relentless rise in international oil prices that last week touched an all-time high of 135 dollars a barrel has forced the government to mull options to save state-run firms, which expect a revenue loss of Rs 200,000 crore this fiscal on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene.
"One of the options being considered is deregulating petrol prices," an official said. "The country`s preferred auto fuel diesel will, however, continue to be subsidised even though a marginal Rs 2-3 a litre hike in prices may be announced."
Petrol is currently being sold at a loss of Rs 16.34 a litre and diesel at Rs 23.49 per litre.
Deregulating petrol price would mean that its prices would move in tandem with international prices.
He said the move is being considered after Finance Ministry declined Petroleum Ministry`s request for lowering customs duty on crude oil to zero from 5 per cent and that on petrol and diesel to 2.5 per cent from current 7.5 per cent.
Oil Ministry had also asked for lowering of excise duty on the two fuels but Finance Ministry is not obliging.
Petrol has negligible impact on inflation and so even if it is deregulated it would not contribute the 3-and-half year high inflation rate of over 8 per cent, he said.
Diesel on the other hand is used by transport industry and replicating the same for the fuel would have cascading effect on inflation.
However, deregulating petrol would lower the revenue losses by just Rs 20,000 crore. Half of the current estimates are on account of diesel rates.
Crude oil surges in early trade
Prices of crude oil on futures market on Monday surged 2.66 per cent in the early trade tracking firm Asian market.
At 1015 hrs, August contract rose 2.66 per cent at Rs 5,756 per barrel on multi commodity exchange (MCX), June contract moved up 1 per cent at Rs 5,676 per barrel while July contract was marginally up by 0.96 per cent to Rs 5,668 per barrel.
Tight supply of crude oil amid the US summer demand put pressure on the prices in the domestic futures market.
Global crude prices are volatile due to weak dollar, speculative funds, reluctance by oil-producers to raise production and geo-political tension, oil experts said.
London's Brent North Sea crude July delivery was trading 33 cents up at 131.90 dollars a barrel. It touched a record over 135 dollars per barrel last week.
Oil Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) secretary general Abdalla Salem el-Badri last week said that weakening dollar and speculators were responsible for surging prices.
NSE Bulk Deals to Watch - May 26 2008
Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
26-MAY-2008,KIRIDYES,Kiri Dyes and Chemicals L,DIPAK RAMANBHAI RATHOD,BUY,80376,172.92,-
26-MAY-2008,MAXWELL,Maxwell Industries Ltd.,KAPIL JAYKUMAR PATHARE,BUY,1295750,18.80,-
26-MAY-2008,MAXWELL,Maxwell Industries Ltd.,SUNIL JAYKUMAR PATHARE,BUY,1295950,18.70,-
26-MAY-2008,SITASHREE,Sita Shree Food Products,DIPAK RAMANBHAI RATHOD,BUY,139218,46.06,-
26-MAY-2008,SITASHREE,Sita Shree Food Products,GOPAL TRADERS,BUY,83012,45.63,-
26-MAY-2008,SITASHREE,Sita Shree Food Products,KASHISH FINSTOCK,BUY,121907,44.52,-
26-MAY-2008,SITASHREE,Sita Shree Food Products,TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD.,BUY,134687,46.14,-
26-MAY-2008,KIRIDYES,Kiri Dyes and Chemicals L,DIPAK RAMANBHAI RATHOD,SELL,70376,174.90,-
26-MAY-2008,MAXWELL,Maxwell Industries Ltd.,PRASHANT JAIPAL REDDY,SELL,1295950,18.70,-
26-MAY-2008,MAXWELL,Maxwell Industries Ltd.,VINAY JAIPAL REDDY,SELL,1295750,18.80,-
26-MAY-2008,SITASHREE,Sita Shree Food Products,DIPAK RAMANBHAI RATHOD,SELL,132637,48.28,-
26-MAY-2008,SITASHREE,Sita Shree Food Products,GOPAL TRADERS,SELL,614482,47.22,-
26-MAY-2008,SITASHREE,Sita Shree Food Products,KASHISH FINSTOCK,SELL,220734,45.51,-
26-MAY-2008,SITASHREE,Sita Shree Food Products,TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD.,SELL,134687,46.03,-
BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - May 26 2008
Deal Date Scrip Code Scrip Name Client Name Deal Type * Quantity Price **
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SANJAY KUMAR YADAV B 54850 100.49
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE KASHISH FINSTOCK B 100000 98.60
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE CHIRAG MAHENDRA SHAH . B 123985 99.76
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE N D NISSAR B 101761 97.78
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE VIJAY Y NANVARE B 182058 99.31
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE SANJAY KUMAR YADAV S 54850 98.10
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE KASHISH FINSTOCK S 100000 99.75
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE CHIRAG MAHENDRA SHAH . S 123985 99.82
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE N D NISSAR S 101761 97.81
26/5/2008 532975 AISHWARYA TE VIJAY Y NANVARE S 182058 100.14
26/5/2008 531223 ANJANI SYNTH NARENDRA VALLABHJI BAHUVA B 62215 46.18
26/5/2008 590059 BIHAR TUBES GEOMATRIX HK LTD AC DUMAURITIUS CAPITAL LTD B 100000 171.50
26/5/2008 532271 CYBERMAT INF S V ENTERPRISES B 608633 6.00
26/5/2008 532271 CYBERMAT INF S V ENTERPRISES S 606695 6.00
26/5/2008 517973 DMC INTER J A FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS PVT. LTD. B 20000 12.70
26/5/2008 531863 GEEKAY FINAN CRESTA FUND LTD B 150000 67.04
26/5/2008 531863 GEEKAY FINAN NEELU SINGHAL S 25000 66.80
26/5/2008 511116 HFCL INFOTEL MANOHAR MANAK ALLOYS PVT.LTD B 136600 20.09
26/5/2008 511116 HFCL INFOTEL HEMANT PRAKASH KANUGO S 136600 20.08
26/5/2008 532100 INDOCITY INF ANIL JAIN HUF B 72000 5.58
26/5/2008 516078 JUMBO BAG LT VINAY JAIN S 99630 37.18
26/5/2008 516078 JUMBO BAG LT CHINTAN BHAIDANI S 58590 37.20
26/5/2008 514448 JYOTI RES AD UJJVAL DINESHBHAI PATEL B 22988 3.38
26/5/2008 521080 PASARI SPIN HARDIK M MITHANI B 100274 13.15
26/5/2008 521080 PASARI SPIN SPJSTOCK B 246308 13.04
26/5/2008 521080 PASARI SPIN HARDIK M MITHANI S 100274 13.24
26/5/2008 521080 PASARI SPIN SPJSTOCK S 251208 13.18
26/5/2008 521080 PASARI SPIN PASARI EXPORT LTD S 250000 12.96
26/5/2008 532692 RADHA MADHAV INDIASTAR MAURITIUS LIMITED S 192288 52.76
26/5/2008 502587 RAMA PUL PAP NARENDRA HIRABHAI MARAVIA B 52453 30.55
26/5/2008 502587 RAMA PUL PAP NARENDRA HIRABHAI MARAVIA S 52453 29.52
26/5/2008 532687 REPRO INDIA ASTUTE COMMODITIES AND DERIVATIVES PVT LTD S 58981 143.60
26/5/2008 532731 ROHIT FERRO GOLDMAN SACHS INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS I LTD B 194306 167.57
26/5/2008 532961 SITA SHREE N D NISSAR B 174099 46.70
26/5/2008 532961 SITA SHREE KASHISH FINSTOCK S 209199 43.13
26/5/2008 532961 SITA SHREE N D NISSAR S 174099 46.66
26/5/2008 531088 TULIP STAR H MANISH MEHTA B 47000 237.67
26/5/2008 531249 WELL PACK PA DEVENDRA SURESH GUPTA B 60000 65.35
26/5/2008 531249 WELL PACK PA DEVENDRA SURESH GUPTA S 60000 66.00
Post Market Commentary - May 26 2008
Indian market ended on negative note due to the heavy selling pressure in metal, capital goods and banking stocks during the trading session led by weak cues from the global markets. Market tumbled since its initial bell tracking the unfavouring cues from the global markets like the surging crude oil price along with the sluggishness of US economic growth and increasing inflationary pressures that led the investors to take cautious approach to book their positions and pushed the market to bearish zone. Also the expiry of derivatives contract on coming Thursday also adds to the sentiments. From the sectoral front, the metal, capital goods, banking and reality stocks were not in favour due to lack of support. However, the IT stocks gave a bit of support to the market as some buying was seen from these baskets. The market breadth was negative as 667 stocks closed in green while 2043stocks closed in red and 48 stocks remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex closed lower by 301.14 points at 16,348.50 and NSE Nifty fell by 71.5 points to close at 4,875.05. The BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap closed down by 176.34 points and 199.23 points to 6,760.77 and 8,318.20 respectively.
Losers from the BSE are J P Associates (5.58%), Ambuja Cement (5.38%), BHEL (5.21%), Reliance Comm Ltd (5.08%), ICICI Bank Ltd (4.29%), HDFC (3.92%), Maruti Suzuki (3.83%), ITC Ltd (3.70%), Grasim Industries Ltd (3.51%) and Hindalco (3.39%).
Metal index closed lower by 452.59 points at 16,343.21, losers are Sh Precoated (6.02%), Jindal Saw (5.20%), Welspan Gujarat SR (4.92%), Ispat Indus (3.82%), Jindal Steel (3.75%), Steel Authority (3.44%) and Sterlite In (3.44%).
The Capital Goods index was down by 358.74 points to close at 12,833.68. Major losers are Praj Ind Ltd (6.61%), BHEL (5.21%), Thermax Ltd (5.19%), Bharat Electr (5.18%), Alstom Proje (4.32%) and Kirloskar Br (3.50%).
The Banking index closed lower by 292.91 points at 7,939.25. Losers are Federal bank (6.09%), Kotak Bank (5.99%), Indian Overseas Bank (4.75%), Axis Bank (4.61%), ICICI Banl Ltd (4.29%), and Allahabad Bank (4.03%).
The Reality index closed down by 170.05 points at 7,340.09. Losers are Housing Development (4.76%), Ansal Infra (4.29%), Penland Ltd (4.24%), Akruti City (3.95%), and Sobha Dev (3.89%).
The Oil & Gas index decreased by 154.61 points at 10,820.65. Losers are Aban Offshore (5.99%), Essar Oil Ltd (3.83%), BPCL (2.88%), Reliance (2.12%) and Reliance Nat Res (1.79%).
Market slumps on weak global cues
The market continued to remain under the grip of a bear hug for the third straight session and crashed nearly 350 points during intra-day trades, as investors tracked weak international markets and rise in the global crude oil prices. Continuing from the yesterday's loss of 257 points, the Sensex resumed 180 points lower at 16,468 and lost more ground as trading progressed. The market witnessed a steep fall in early noon trades as selling in heavyweights, Bankex, capital good and metals dragged the index below the 16,300 mark to the day's low of 16,300. After lingering in the negative territory thereafter, the Sensex wrapped up the session at 16,349, down 301 points, while the Nifty shed 72 points to close at 4,875.
Market breadth was extremely weak. Of the 2,758 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,043 stocks declined while only 667 stocks advanced. The remaining 48 stocks ended unchanged. Except IT and Teck, all the sectoral indices finished in red. The BSE Bankex index was the major loser and declined 3.56% at 7,939 followed by the BSE CG index (down 2.72% at 12,834), the BSE Metal index (down 2.69% at 16,343) and the BSE PSU index (down 2.49% at 7,337).
Barring few select stocks, most frontline stocks faltered under the selling pressure. Among the major laggards JP Associates shed 5.58% at Rs224.40, Ambuja Cement dropped 5.38% at Rs96.65, BHEL slumped 5.21% at Rs1656, Reliance Communications declined 5.08% at Rs543.20, ICICI Bank fell 4.29% at Rs826.70, HDFC tumbled 3.92% at Rs2,573 and Maruti slipped by 3.83% at Rs759.85. Infosys, however, advanced 3.29% at Rs1,886 while Bharti Airtel, TCS and Satyam Computer ended with steady gains.
Among sectoral stocks, Bankex slipped sharply. Federal Bank tumbled 6.09% at Rs221.95, Kotak Bank lost 5.99% at Rs658.05, Indian Overseas Bank fell 4.75% at Rs130.20, Axis Bank declined 4.61% at Rs762.95 and Allahabad Bank shed 4.03% at Rs84.55. Capital goods stocks also bore the brunt and lost ground. Praj Industries, BHEL, Thermax, Bharat Electricals, Alstom, Punj Lloyd, Kirloskar Brothers, Elecon Eng, L&T and Lakshmi Machine crashed over 3-6% each.
Over 1.69 crore Ispat Industries shares changed hands on the BSE followed by IFCI (1.14 crore shares), Aishwarya Telecom (86.54 lakh shares), Spice Telecom (80.18 lakh shares) and RNRL (65.51 lakh shares).
Valuewise, Cairn India was the most actively traded counter on the BSE and registered a turnover of Rs180 crore followed by Reliance Industries (Rs148 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs145 crore), Bajaj Auto (Rs144 crore) and Reliance Power (Rs142 crore).
Sensex sheds 301 points on weak global cues
The market today extended last week's steep losses on weak cues from Asian markets. Banking, and capital goods stocks suffered the most in today's slide. Information technology stocks were star performers of the session.
As per provisional data, foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 1337.33 crore today. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 842.05 crore.
Asian stocks fell on Monday, 26 May 2008, as investors feared rising inflation and sluggish US economic growth would seriously dent consumer demand in the region's biggest export market. Key indices in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea were down by 0.60% to 3.13%.
But European markets, which opened after the Indian markets, were positive. Key indices in France and Germany were up by 0.08% to 0.25%. UK market is closed today on account of Spring Bank holiday.
On Friday, 23 May 2008, the US markets declined on concerns about a worsening housing recession and rising crude oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 145.99 points, or 1.16%, to 12,479.63. The S&P 500 index declined 18.42 points, or 1.32%, to 1,375.93, and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 19.91 points, or 0.81%, to 2,444.67.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 301.14 points or 1.81% at 16,348.50. The index lost 348.76 points at day's low of 16,300.88, hit at the fag end of the session.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 71.5 points or 1.45% at 4875.05. Nifty futures were at 4878.35, a premium of 3.3 points against the spot closing.
The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was at Rs 44103.52 crore, higher than Rs 41317.97 crore on Friday, 23 May 2008. BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4134 crore in the cash segment as against Rs 5,389.63 on Friday, 23 May 2008.
The market breadth was poor on BSE with 667 shares advancing as compared to 2043 stocks that declined. 48 stocks remained unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.54% to 6,760.77 and BSE Small-Cap index fell 2.34% to 8,318.20. Both the indices underperformed the Sensex.
India's biggest listed cellular services provider by market share Bharti Airtel advanced 3.15% at Rs 863.15 after the company decided to disengage from the ongoing talks with the South African telecom major, MTN, to explore the possibility of a merger between the two emerging markets telecom giants
India's largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 1.17% at Rs 2524.85. The stock recovered from the day's low of Rs 2490.
India’s second largest listed telecom services provider by sales Reliance Communication shed 5.08% to Rs 543.20 after the company entered into negotiations with South Africa's MTN Group for a possible merger after MTN's merger deal with Bharti Airtel collapsed.
Other major Sensex losers were, Jaiprakash Associates (down 5.58% at Rs 224.40), Ambuja Cements (down 5.38% and Maruti Suzuki (down 3.83% at Rs 759.85).
The BSE Bankex underperformed the Sensex, falling 3.56% to 7,939.25. Federal Bank (down 6.09% at Rs 221.95), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 6% at Rs 658.05), Indian Overseas Bank (down 4.75% at Rs 130.20), Axis Bank (down 4.61% at Rs 762.95), HDFC Bank (down 2.60% at Rs 1,347.45) and State Bank of India (down 2.26% at Rs 1,537.70), slipped.
India's largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank fell 4.29% at Rs 826.70.
The BSE Capital Goods index underperformed the Sensex, falling 2.72% at 12,833.68. Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 5.21% at Rs 1,656.10), Punj Lloyd (down 3.81% at Rs 320.90) and Larsen & Toubro (down 3.34% at Rs 2,749.65), tumbled.
Information technology (IT) stocks rose after the Indian rupee had fellen 0.14% to 42.755 against the dollar in morning deals. However, the domestic curency recovered to trade at 42.55 per dollar in afternoon trade. The BSE IT index outperformed the Sensex, gaining 1.77% at 4,418. Infosys Technologies (up 3.29% at Rs 1,886.40), TCS (up 2.69% at Rs 958.80), HCL Technologies (up 1.28% at Rs 295.85) and Satyam Computer (up 0.25% at Rs 483.10), rose.
However, India's third largest software exporter by sales Wipro fell 0.43% at Rs 478.65.
Cairn India clocked the highest turover of Rs 180.52 crore on BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 148.18 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 145.46 crore), Bajaj Auto (Rs 144.40 crore) and Reliance Power (Rs 142.14 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.
Ispat Industries registered a highest volume of 1.69 crore shares on BSE. IFCI (1.11 crore shares), Aishwarya Telecom (86.54 lakh shares), Spice Communication (80.18 lakh shares) and Reliance Natural Resources (65.51 lakh shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.
Commercial vehicles maker Eicher Motors rose 20% to Rs 384.30 on reports truck maker Volvo had inked a final agreement to set up a new truck and bus joint venture with the company. Some other reports suggested that Eicher Goodearth, part of the promoter group, was considering buying back 13.12% of the company's shares at Rs 691.68 each.
Private sector lender Bank of Rajasthan surged 13.77% to Rs 116.05 after it scheduled a board meet on 31 May 2008 to consider issue of bonus shares.
Engineering firm Crompton Greaves gained 2.31% to Rs 237.35 after posting 47.4% surge in net profit to Rs 103.07 crore on 17.1% increase in net sales to Rs 1159.53 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.
Auto parts maker Federal-Mogul Goetze (India) rose 1.76% at Rs 75.35 after it said its board will meet on 3 June 2008 to consider a rights issue.
Relentless selling in realty, oil & gas and metal stocks spooked sell-off in late trade on Friday, 23 May 2008. The 30-share BSE Sensex settled 257.47 points or 1.52% lower at 16,649.64 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 78.9 points or 1.57% at 4,946.55, on that day.
The key benchmark indices suffered losses in the week ended Friday, 3 May 2008 with the BSE Sensex plunging 785.30 points or 4.50% to 16,649.64 and the S&P CNX Nifty sliding 211.15 points or 4.09% to 4,946.55 .
Inflation based on the whole price index rose 7.82% in the year through 10 May 2008, marginally lower than 7.83% rise in the previous week, government data released on Friday, 23 May 2008, showed. Meanwhile, inflation for the year through 15 March 2008 was revised upwards to 8.02% compared to provisional figure of 6.68%.
Downtrend may continue
The market is likely to witness a cautious trend as major Asian gauges like the Nikkei, the Hang Seng index, the Kospi index and the Jakarta index have lost marginally in the current trades and the US market ended on a negative note last night. Also, the domestic indices received a heavy pounding last week and lost over 750 points. On the technical side, the Nifty could target higher levels of 5000 and find support at 4900 while the Sensex may face resistance at 16980 and find support at 16546. Corporates like Kalpataru Power, HTML Global, Omaxe, Parle Software and JMC Projects are expected to announced their numbers.
US indices closed on a negative note on Friday. The Dow Jones lost 146 points at 12480 whereas the Nasdaq was down 20 points at 2445.
Indian floats ended lower. Rediff was the major loser dropped 10.11%, while ICICI Bank, Satyam, Wipro and Infosys dropped nearly 2-3% each. Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and VSNL dropped nearly 1% each. Dr Reddy's was the only gainer amongst the ADRs and gained 2.83%.
Crude oil prices in the international market advanced on Friday, with the Nymex US light crude oil for July delivery up $1.38 to close at $132.19 a barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold gained $7.50 to settle at $925.80 an ounce.
Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities
On May 22, 2008 FIIs were net sellers of stocks to the tune of Rs550.70 crore (purchases worth Rs2,226 crore and sales of Rs2,776.70 crore) while domestic mutual funds were net sellers of stocks to the tune of Rs92.20 crore (purchases worth Rs548.80 crore and sales of Rs640.90 crore).
Pre Market Watch - May 26 2008
The Indian Market is expected to have negative opening on the back of weak global cues as the US market closed in red while the Asian markets are going through negative sentiment. On Friday, the Indian market closed downbeat after giving up its earlier gains due to heavy selling pressure in key indices. The market opened with the positive attitude tracking the global cues but was not able to sustain the momentum after release of inflation figure which was more than expectation as stood at 7.82% as against 7.83% of previous week. This led the investors to book their positions which in turn forced the market to close in red. The metal and oil & gas stocks were not in favour on account of heavy selling force. The BSE Sensex closed lower by 257.47 points at 16,649.64 and NSE Nifty fell by 78.9 points to close at 4,946.55. We expect that the market may suffer during the trading session.
On Friday, the US market closed in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed lower by 145.99 points at 12,479.63 along with NASDAQ fell by 19.91 points to close at 2,444.67 and S&P 500 dropped by 18.42 points to close at 1,375.93.
Indian ADRS ended down. In technology sector, Satyam fell by (3.40%) along with Wipro by (2.50%), Infosys by (2.47%) and Patni Computers by (0.16%). In banking sector, Infosys bank and HDFC bank decreased by (3.64%) and (1.37%) respectively. In telecommunication sector, Tata Communication and MTNL dropped by (1.37%) and (0.61%). Sterlite industries inclined by (3.71%).
Today the major stock markets in Asia are trading weak. Hang Seng index is trading lower by 569.89 points at 24,144.18 along with Japan’s Nikkei trading down by 312.35 points at 13,699.85 and Taiwan Weighted trading at 8,717.79 down by 116.94 points.
The FIIs Friday stood as net seller in equity. The gross equity purchased was Rs2,226.00 Crore and the gross debt purchased was Rs0.00 Crore while the gross equity sold stood at Rs2,776.70 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs0.00 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity reported was (Rs550.70) Crore and net debt was Rs0.00 Crore.
Today, Nifty has support at 4,892 and resistance at 5,027 and BSE Sensex has support at 16,340 and resistance at 16,90
Weak opening expected
The market is geared for weak opening tracking negative global cues. In absence of any near term major domestic trigger with Q4 March 2008 results almost over, market is likely to dance in line with global cues.
Aggregate results of 1886 companies showed 18.70% rise in net profit on 22.60% rise in net sales in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007, so far. There was 28.10% rise in net profit on 22% rise in net sales in the year ended March 2008 over year ended March 2007.
Expiry of May 2008 futures & options series on Thursday, 29 May 2008 will keep the market volatile in the coming days. As per reports, rollover of Nifty positions from May 2008 series to June 2008 series stood at 32% and marketwide positions were 18%, as on 23 May 2008.
Asian markets were trading weak today, 26 May 2008. China's Shanghai Composite (down 1.69% at 3,414.32), Japan's Nikkei (down 2.23% at 13,699.85), Hang Seng (down 2.31% at 24,144.18), Taiwan Weighted (down 1.32% at 8,717.79), Singapore's Straits Times (down 1.06% at 3,088.98), and South Korea's Seoul Composite (down 1.73% at 1,796.23) edged lower
On Friday, 23 May 2008 US markets declined on concerns about a worsening housing recession and rising crude oil prices put renewed pressure on a market marred by worries that inflation will crimp consumption and further weaken the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 145.99 points, or 1.16%, to 12,479.63. The S&P 500 index declined 18.42 points, or 1.32%, to 1,375.93, and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 19.91 points, or 0.81%, to 2,444.67.
Back home, relentless selling in realty, oil & gas and metal stocks spooked sell-off in late trade on Friday, 23 May 2008. The 30-share BSE Sensex settled 257.47 points or 1.52% lower at 16,649.64 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 78.9 points or 1.57% at 4,946.55, on that day.
The key benchmark indices suffered losses in the week ended Friday, 3 May 2008 with the BSE Sensex plunging 785.30 points or 4.50% to 16,649.64 and the S&P CNX Nifty sliding 211.15 points or 4.09% to 4,946.55 in the week.
As per provisional data, foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 654.31 crore on Friday, 23 May 2008. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 750.03 crore on that day.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 1118.77 crore in the futures & options segment on Friday, 23 May 2008. They were net sellers of index futures to the tune of Rs 1006.88 crore and sold index options worth Rs 59.74 crore. They were net sellers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 62.53 crore and bought stock options worth Rs 10.38 crore.
Inflation based on the whole price index rose 7.82% in the year through 10 May 2008, marginally lower than 7.83% rise in the previous week, government data released on Friday, 23 May 2008, showed. Meanwhile, inflation for the year through 15 March 2008 was revised upwards to 8.02% compared to provisional figure of 6.68%.
Meanwhile, not satisfied with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA's) replies to their queries on the nuclear issue,the Left parties are likely to ask the government to finalise an India-specific safeguards agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) only after the 123 agreement with the US lapses.
The Left opposition to the 123 agreement is because they feel it was bound by the Hyde Act which was detrimental to India's sovereignty and its pursuance of an independent foreign policy. Further talks will be held in the UPA-Left Committee meeting to be held on 28 May 2008 to discuss the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Meanwhile as per results announced on 26 May 2008 for second round of elections in Karnataka Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 110 seats out of 224, just short of a simple majority. The Congress has won 80 seats and the Janata Dal (Secular) claimed 28. Independents won six seats. In the 28 constituencies of Bangalore, the BJP has won 17 seats, the Congress won nine, and the JD(S) picked up one.
A strong finish for precious metals
Gold prices end 3% higher for the week
Precious metals ended higher on Friday, 23 May, 2008 and posted good gains for the week after crude oil prices remained strong and the dollar weakened. Ealier this week, crude oil's rally to a fresh record high above $133 a barrel boosted the precious metal's appeal as an inflation hedge. Oil has doubled in the past year, fueling concern inflation will accelerate.
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. Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies. On the other hand, a lower dollar pushes up precious metal prices as their demand lessens as it becomes cheaper for traders holding other currencies.
Comex Gold for June delivery rose $7.5 (0.8%) to close at $925.8 ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, gold prices ended higher by $25 (3%). On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce.
This year, gold prices have gained 10.4% for the till date against a 7.8% drop for the dollar against the euro. For April, prices closed lower by 6.3%. For first quarter prices gained 10.7%. In January, prices gained 11%, the highest monthly gain since April 2006. For February, it gained 6%. But in March, prices succumbed and fell by 5.5%.
Comex Silver futures for July delivery gained 26 cents (1.5%) to $18.29 an ounce. Silver has gained 22.2% in 2008 till date. For April, it closed lower by 5.5%. Silver gained 16% in Q1. In January this year itself, prices climbed 14%. In February, it gained another 15%. For March, it ended lower by 13%. The metal had climbed 16% in FY 2007. The metal also has gained for seven straight years.
At the currency markets on Friday, the dollar slipped modestly against its major counterparts on the heels of strength in oil prices, but the greenback remained in relatively narrow ranges in quiet trading ahead of Monday's U.S. and U.K. holidays. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, was at 71.976, down from 72.147.
Since last September, Fed has axed interest rates seven times and brought it down to 2%. The ECB has kept rates unchanged at 4% since June, 2007.
Dollar weakness typically benefits dollar-denominated commodities, such as gold and crude oil, because it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies. On the other hand strong dollar reduces the appeal of the metal as alternate source of investment.
Among major economic news of the day, resales of U.S. houses and condos dropped 1% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.89 million from 4.94 million in March.
In the crude market on Friday, crude for July delivery closed up $1.38 at $132.19 a barrel to gain almost 5% for the week as concerns about the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season sent June prices for natural gas closer to $12 per million British thermal units.
Earlier during the week, crude oil rose after billionaire hedge-fund manager Boone Pickens said prices will reach $150 a barrel this year as demand outpaces supply. Last week, crude-oil futures rallied to a fresh record high near $128 a barrel as Goldman Sachs raised its second-half-of-the-year forecast for oil prices by 32% to $141.
Rally in crude oil
Crude oil and natural gas end week higher by 5% and 7% respectively
Crude-oil futures rose on Friday, 23 May, 2008 after the dollar weakened and also after traders speculated that crude supplies are not enough to meet the forthcoming hurricane season. Prices had increased almost everyday of the week.
Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $132.19/barrel (higher by $1.38/barrel or 1.06%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During intraday trading, it touched a high of $133.69. Price touched a high of $135.09 earlier during the week.
For the week, crude prices closed higher by 5%. For the year, crude is up by 32% till date. Prices have more than doubled on a yearly basis.
At the currency markets on Friday, the dollar slipped modestly against its major counterparts on the heels of strength in oil prices, but the greenback remained in relatively narrow ranges in quiet trading ahead of Monday's U.S. and U.K. holidays. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, was at 71.976, down from 72.147.
Among major economic news of the day, resale of U.S. houses and condos dropped 1% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.89 million from 4.94 million in March.
During the week, the Energy Department reported that crude supplies fell by 5.4 million barrels to 320.4 million for the week ended 16 May. Prior to that, supplies had climbed more than 12 million barrels in the past four weeks. Market was expecting a rise of 900,000 barrels for the latest week.
Natural gas for June delivery climbed as high as $11.87 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the highest level that contract has ever reached on the exchange. It closed up 15.7 cents, or 1.3%, to $11.857. It ended the week higher by 7%.
EIA reported earlier that stockpiles were 3 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, compared with a 3 billion-cubic-foot surplus a week earlier. Supplies were down 302 billion cubic feet, or 16 percent, from a year earlier.
Against this backdrop, June reformulated gasoline closed at $3.396 a gallon Friday in New York, up 6 cents for the day and 5.4% higher for the week. June heating oil fell by 8.44 cents, or 2.1%, to end at $3.8656 a gallon, but it's still up 4.4% for the week.
Losses in the US Market
Strong crude pieces throughout the week send stocks tumbling
The last week that ended on Friday, 23 May, 2008 was mainly dominated by the crude oil and a plethora of economic news. Soaring oil prices were mostly to blame, but renewed concerns about the state of the financial sector and growing concerns about inflation pressures also played a part in dictating the market's fate this week. Unlike stocks, oil prices kept moving higher this week, touching $135.09 at their high before settling at $131.82 on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 507 points for the week. Tech - heavy Nasdaq lost 84 points. S&P 500 lost 50 points. In percentage terms the three indices lost 3.9%, 3.4% and 3.3% respectively.
Among major economic news hitting the week, existing home sales in April fell 1.0% from March to an annualized rate of 4.89 million units. That was better than expected. It marked a decline of 3.6% from six months ago when October sales computed to an annualized rate of 5.06 million units. In the five months leading up to October, existing home sales fell 17.2%.
Separately, weekly initial claims and the leading indicators reports were encouraging from an economic standpoint, yet they were overshadowed by inflation concerns tied to a less than pleasing Producer Price Index, the jump in oil prices and some sobering statements in the minutes from the 30 April FOMC meeting.
The FOMC released the minutes from its 30 April meeting around 2:00 ET, which sent stocks tumbling. The 2008 inflation outlook was increased, as was the unemployment rate forecast. Also, as per Fed, real GDP growth is expected to range from 0.3% to 1.2% this year. The Fed previously forecast growth between 1.3% and 2%.
The Fed also announced that it expects unemployment will "increase significantly," raising its 2008 forecast to 5.6% from 5.25%. In addition, inflation risks have increased, with the Fed raising its core-inflation forecast to between 2.2% and 2.4% from between 2% and 2.2%.
Earnings reports were mostly better than expected, but the market's response was mixed. Hewlett-Packard and Analog Devices topped their respective earnings estimates.
From a sector standpoint, there wasn't much leadership. Even the energy sector dropped more than 2% as worries about demand destruction in the face of such high energy prices curtailed the bullish enthusiasm toward the sector. The financial sector plummeted more than 6% as many firms cut earnings estimates for a number of investment banks and arguments were made that the worst is not over for the sector. The transportation sector was the other big casualty.
Supply concerns and speculative interest were heralded as the main drivers of oil prices. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $132.19/barrel (higher by $1.38/barrel or 1.06%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During intraday trading, it touched a high of $133.69. For the week, crude prices closed higher by 5%. For the year, crude is up by 32% till date. Prices have more than doubled on a yearly basis.
Trading Calls - May 26 2008
Nifty (4947) Supp 4870 Res 5020
Sell SBI (1573) SL 1593
Target 1533, 1528
Sell Infosys (1828) SL 1845 Target 1790, 1785
Sell PNB (514) SL 519
Target 504, 500
Buy Praj Ind (205) SL 200
Target 215, 218
Buy Bharti (837) SL 830
Target 850, 855
Worries refuse to go away
Reality is that which refuses to go away when I stop believing in it.
Even as bulls were getting to believe that the worst is behind them, fresh worries seem to have set in. The bulls are likely to remain under pressure given the weak global markets and growing inflation worries. More volatility is seen ahead of Thursday's F&O expiry and the announcement of GDP numbers on Friday.
A weakening rupee and crude above $130 per barrel are major negatives for the market. Further monetary tightening is not ruled out if inflation remains stubbornly high. Political concerns following the BJP's victory in Karnataka and the Left front's repeated threats to the Government over its economic policies may also weigh down the sentiment. It’s time to be cautious and selective.
Today, we expect another weak opening as most Asian markets are sharply down following the lower finish on Wall Street on Friday. The trend may turn sideways and choppy later on as the US markets are shut today and investors may remain guarded prior to the derivative settlement and announcement of inflation and GDP numbers.
Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finserv will be listed today. Bajaj Auto was demerged into three entities - Bajaj Holdings & Investments, new Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finserv. Bajaj Holdings, formerly Bajaj Auto, now functions as an investment company. The new Bajaj Auto focuses on the auto business, while Bajaj Finserv is engaged in wind energy generation, insurance and finance.
FIIs were net sellers of Rs6.5bn (provisional) in the cash segment on Friday while local institutions were net buyers of Rs7.5bn. In the F&O segment, foreign funds were net sellers of Rs11.19bn. On Thursday, FIIs were net sellers of Rs5.51bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were net sellers of Rs922mn.
Key Results Today: eClerx, Elecon Engineering, Ess Dee Aluminium, Everest Kanto, HTMT Global, JMC Projects, Kalpataru Power, Omaxe and Shriram Transport.
Asian stocks fell for a fifth day today as rising oil prices sparked concern that higher costs will hurt consumer spending and erode corporate profits. Toyota slumped the most in four days in Tokyo and Samsung had its biggest drop in a week in Seoul. Nissan retreated after Merrill Lynch cut its rating on the stock.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.9% to 149.18 as of 9:59 a.m. in Tokyo, extending a four-day, 2.5% decline. The benchmark's five-day retreat is its longest since March 5.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 1.8% to 13,752.98. Japanese shares also fell after the dollar retreated against the yen, renewing concerns that exporters' profits will be eroded. Stock benchmarks slipped in other markets open for trading.
US stocks tumbled on Friday, as soaring oil prices and weak housing sector reports prompted investors to cash out ahead of a three-day holiday weekend. All financial markets are closed on Monday for Memorial Day.
All the major stock indices declined on the week as well, as record-high fuel prices heightened worries over the strength of consumer spending. Thursday was an exception, with stocks moving higher as oil prices fell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 145 points, or 1.2%, to 12,479. The S&P 500 index fell 18 points, or 1.3%, to 1,375 while the Nasdaq Composite gave up 19 points, or 1%, to 2,444.
For the week, the Dow was down 4.2%, the S&P 500 lost 3.6% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.7%.
The run-up in oil prices and weak housing market reports kept investors on tenterhooks. Also, stocks continued to see a pullback in the wake of the recent rally, after a good run between mid-March and mid-May.
Stocks opened weak on Friday and then turned even lower following the mid-morning release of the April existing-home sales report from an industry trade group.
The National Association of Realtors reported that the inventory of unsold homes jumped 10.5% to 4.55mn in April, an uncomfortably high level, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the real estate trade group.
Trading volumes were light ahead of the three-day weekend, with 1.1bn shares exchanging hands on the NYSE and 737mn trading on the Nasdaq stock market. Declining issues topped gainers by nearly three to one on both exchanges.
US light crude oil for July delivery rose $1.38 to settle at $132.19 a barrel in New York. Oil rose nearly 5% last week from $126.04 on May 16. A day before, it briefly touched a record high of $135.09 in electronic trading.
Oil has been spiking over the last few weeks on a mix of global supply concerns and the impact of the weak dollar, which makes dollar-traded commodities less expensive for international investors.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas rose to a record $3.875 from the previous day's record high of $3.831 per gallon, AAA reported.
COMEX gold for August delivery rose $7.60 to settle at $930.60 an ounce. The dollar fell versus the euro and yen. Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.87% from 3.91% late on Thursday.
GM shares fell 5%. The auto giant said it expects to take a $1.8bn hit and cut production by another 230,000 vehicles in the second quarter due to the now-settled strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings.
Shares of Ford shed 4% after it gave a vivid indication of the extent of the challenges facing the automotive industry in the US, backing away from its oft-stated goal of turning a profit in 2009.
Yahoo shares rose 0.7% after the company pushed back its annual shareholder meeting from July 3 to the end of July as it faces a proxy campaign led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Stocks in Europe ended Friday at their lowest closing level this month, as oil prices resumed their upward path after a one-day hiatus and investors closed positions before long weekends in the US and the UK. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 dropped 1.7% to 319.03 in a broad-based retreat. Germany's DAX 30 slipped 1.8% to 6,944.05, while the French CAC 40 dived 1.9% to 4,933.77 and the UK's FTSE fell 1.5% to 6,087.30.
In the emerging markets, the Bovespa in Brazil dropped 1.2% to 71,451 while the IPC index in Mexico was down 0.6% at 31,068. The RTS index in Russia added 0.1% at 2435 while the ISE National 30 index in Turkey slid 2.3% to 48,764.
Oil, Inflation to drive sentiment
Weak global cues, accelerating inflation and declining industrial growth dampened the sentiments on Dalal-Street on Friday. After bouncing back in the early trades, the benchmark Sensex closed below the 16,700 mark and the Nifty ended below the 4950 level. Except for the Pharma index all the other major BSE Sectoral indices ended in the red.
Even the midcap and smallcap stocks lost momentum in afternoon trade. Both the Mid-Cap and the Small-Cap indices lost over a percent each. Finally, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended 257 points lower to close at 16,649 and the Nifty index slipped 78 points to close at 4,946.
Overall about 809 stocks advanced; 1,909 stocks declined while 72 stocks remained unchanged. Among the 50-Nifty 35 stocks ended down and 14 stocks ended in green.
RCom slipped by 2% to Rs572 after the company said that it added 1.62mn users in April. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs594 and a low of Rs570 and recorded volumes of over 11,00,000 shares on NSE.
The PSU refinery stocks gained momentum after media reports stated that the Indian oil minister wants Rs10 per liter increase in petrol and Rs5 per liter increase in diesel. Stocks like HPCL surged by over 3.5% to Rs242, BPCL spurted by over 3.5% to Rs359 and IOC added 3% to Rs420.
Hilton Metal Forging dropped by over 10% to Rs32 after in a bulk deal on Thursday Deutsche International sold 67,000 shares of the company at an average price of Rs37. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs35 and a low of Rs32 and recorded volumes of over 73,000 shares on BSE.
IndiaBulls Real Estate declined by over 4% to Rs490. Reports stated that the company has paid its UK listed entity Rs4.5bn more than estimated by independent valuers. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs522 and a low of Rs477 and has recorded volumes of over 7,00,000 shares on NSE.
After hitting an intra-day high of Rs113, Idea lost ground and ended flat at Rs107. There were reports stating that Providence Equity Partners acquired 20% in Idea Cellular unit for US$640mn. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs113 and a low of Rs106 and recorded volumes of over 92,00,000 shares on NSE.
Spice Tele advanced by 2% to Rs44 after the company announced that it would invest upto US$300mn in networks. The company also said that they are in talks for Infrastructure-sharing and also expects to get airwaves in Andhra Pradesh. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs45 and a low of Rs44 and recorded volumes of over 25,00,000 shares on NSE.
IDBI fell by over 2% to Rs95. The company said that it is looking to seal an acquisition this year and is looking at both private and public sector banks for this purpose. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs99 and a low of Rs94 and recorded volumes of over 5,00,000 shares on NSE.
Tata Elxsi surged by over 8% to Rs202 as reports stated that the company would triple manpower on overseas design orders. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs209 and a low of Rs187 and recorded volumes of over 99,000 shares on NSE.
Bank of Maharashtra gained by 1% to Rs47 following the reports that the bank opened its 1,377th branch in India. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs48 and a low of Rs47 and recorded volumes of over 74,000 shares on NSE.
ONGC slipped by 2 percent to Rs902. According to reports, the company refused to accept oil bonds as payment for its crude oil sales to PSU refiners. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs938 and a low of Rs898 and recorded volumes of over 7,00,000 shares on NSE.
Corporate News
Bharti Airtel drops talks with MTN on differences over holding structure. (FE)
RPower, GMR Infra plan to bid for Singapore power plants.(BS)
Reliance Industries may begin drilling in the KG block in the current year.(BL)
Cipla close to clinching a long term manufacturing and supply deal with Australian drug maker Sigma Pharmaceuticals for OTC products.(BS)
GMR Infrastructure may partner Petronas to jointly bid for oil blocks in India.(Mint)
Reliance Communications close to acquiring ailing London based virtual network operator Vanco.(FE)
SAIL agrees to pay 40% higher price for its coking coal procurement from Coal India in 2008-09.(BL)
Hindustan Unilever has hiked prices between 3-28% over the past one and a half months.(DNA)
Two Chinese companies along with BHEL are in race for the Rs24bn EPC contract for 600MW Haldia thermal venture of CESC.(ET)
NBC Universal acquires 26% stake in NDTV Network for US$150mn.(BL)
Videocon is studying an invitation from GE to bid for its appliances division which is up for sale.(BS)
Infosys Technologies says it is actively looking for acquisitions in Europe.(BL)
M&M appoints a team for two wheeler foray.(BS)
AV Birla group in talks with Accor of France to bring its budget hotel brand Formule-1 to India.(ET)
ICICI Bank to go slow on its retail assets expansion; to refocus on corporate loans.(Mint)
ONGC and Oil India will together save around Rs 13bn annually with the petroleum ministry allowing them to pay royalty on the final price.(BS)
Sterlite Industries on look out for partners for its proposed 5mn ton steel pant in Orissa.(FE)
Jain Irrigation Systems Rs5.5bn capacity expansion plan to be executed by 2010-11.(DNA)
Coal India will invite bids for developing 26 closed mines through JVs.(ET)
Uttar Pradesh power regulator issues notice to Lanco Infratech over Anpara project.(BS)
Honda plans to roll out a non-100 cc bike and another scooter before the end of this year.(DNA)
Apollo Tyres to invest Rs20bn in next three years on expansion.(Mint)
Vedanta Resources in talks with steel producers from Europe, Japan and India; seeks an ally for steel JV.(TOI)
Housing Development and Infrastructure to bid for 10 NELP VII blocks.(DNA)
RPG Cellucom plans to add 500 stores in India by March 2009. (ET)
Power Finance Corp bids to raise Rs2bn through sale of bonds.(DNA)
NMDC may review iron ore exports in order to increase domestic availability.(BS)
City Union Bank has proposed a JV with Sri Lanka based Hattan National Bank. (DNA)
Rolta is learnt to be close to acquiring a US-based IT firm.(ET)
Volkswagen plans to roll out its lowest priced car ‘UP!’ for Rs0.3mn in India by 2010-11.(ET)
Dalmia Cement is likely to invest Rs11bn more to its expansion. (DNA)
Economic News
Farm debt waiver has been enhanced to Rs717bn.(BL)
Government allocated start-up spectrum to new telecom players in AP.(ET)
Communications Minister A Raja suggests foreign telecom companies would be permitted to bid for 3G spectrum.(BS)
Relief package for PSU oil marketing companies who are facing financial crunch due to continued surge in global crude oil prices is expected sometime soon.(BL)
Uttar Pradesh government decides to sell its equity in all the sugar mills of the UP State Sugar Corporation.(FE)
DoT calls a meeting with operators on May 28th to discuss allocation and pricing of 3G spectrum bands.(BS)
Government may lift the ban on rice exports to select African nations.(ET)
Government says 3G telecom services, which enable faster data connectivity, will be rolled out before January next year.(FE)
Government unlikely to relax overseas borrowing regime.(BS)
Companies that source service from associate firms would have to pay service tax before they make adjustments for payments in their books.(ET)
India to face Wheat and Rice glut
India, which is currently at a comfortable position in cereals, may face a glut in rice and wheat two years from now, an expert said.
"The way prices have gone up in cereals like wheat andrice, there will be glut of these cereals in next two years,"India head of US-based International Food Policy ResearchInstitute Ashok Gulati said.
Speaking on sidelines of a function, he said the robust prices in cereals have attracted the sugarcane farmers, who were suffering from a glut in the sugar market, towards paddy cultivation.
During 2007-08, India has produced a record 76.78 million tons of wheat and 95.68 million tons of rice. The sugar output is estimated at about 27 million tons against the domestic consumption of 20 million tons.
Gulati noted that the wheat procurement of about 21 million tons in a little over one month signals that support price of Rs 1,000 a quintal was good for farmers. He also said, the shift towards cereals would affect other crops like oilseeds as total cultivable area remains the same. He said India can become self sufficient in edible oil if oilseeds production is increased by 40 per cent, but cautioned that in the process, other crops would be affected. There is need to tap potential in oil palm, which is the cheapest source of edible oil compared to oilseeds, he suggested. While palm oil is harvested through the plantation crop, other oils come from oilseeds grown in field.
"Oil palm in the country is being grown in 30,000-40,000 hectares while it has potential of 800,000 hectares," he said.
India imports 40 per cent of its domestic edible oil requirement, majority of which is palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia. The edible oil import was about 47 lakh tons in 2006-07 season ending October last year.
Warren Buffet - blame the banks!
Blame for the sub-prime crisis lies at the feet of banks who took too many risks in mortgage lending, US billionaire investor Warren Buffett told newspaper El Pais in an interview published on Sunday.
"The banks exposed themselves too much, they took on too much risk.... It's their fault. There's no need to blame anyone else," he said.
Buffett, dubbed the world's richest person by Forbes magazine, said he believed the situation in financial markets would not deteriorate further.
"I don't think the situation will get worse in financial markets. General conditions in the business world will get worse, but it will only last a while," he said, adding he had no idea when an upturn would come.
Buffett gave the interview on a recent visit to Madrid, as part of a European tour including Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Spain on the look out for new investments.
He said the idea of the trip was to increase awareness amongst European businesses of his holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc, which holds stakes in businesses ranging from American Express Co to Coca-Cola Co.
He said he wanted business owners to think of him when they were looking to sell.
"We want to buy big companies that earn at least 50 million euros (USD 78.6 million) before taxes, and there's more of those in Europe than in other parts of the world," he said.
He would not be drawn on what companies in particular he was looking at, other than saying he was not interested in distressed businesses.
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