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Thursday, June 26, 2008
NSE Bulk Deals to WAtch - June 26 2008
Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
26-JUN-2008,AMTEKAUTO,AmtekAuto-Roll Sett,WARHOL LIMITED,BUY,2000000,249.00,-
26-JUN-2008,GWALCHEM,Gwalior Chemical Industri,MANISH VRAJLAL SARVAIYA,BUY,224778,107.40,-
26-JUN-2008,GWALCHEM,Gwalior Chemical Industri,MANSUKH SECURITIES & FINANCE LTD,BUY,147017,104.76,-
26-JUN-2008,HINDOILEXP,Hind. Oil Exploration ,ECAL ADVISORS LTD,BUY,1518001,131.42,-
26-JUN-2008,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,CLEAN FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD,BUY,3585278,40.94,-
26-JUN-2008,NIITTECH,NIIT Technologies Limited,MATHRAN SECURITIES PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,362839,135.59,-
26-JUN-2008,RANEENGINE,Rane Engine Valve Limited,ASTUTE COMMODITIES & DERIVATIVES Pvt Ltd,BUY,37307,157.28,-
26-JUN-2008,RANEENGINE,Rane Engine Valve Limited,MANSUKH SECURITIES & FINANCE LTD,BUY,61038,157.33,-
26-JUN-2008,SASKEN,Sasken Commu Techno Ltd,MBL & COMPANY LTD.,BUY,223423,150.61,-
26-JUN-2008,AMTEKAUTO,AmtekAuto-Roll Sett,CITIGROUP GLOBAL MKTS MAURITIUS PVT LTD,SELL,2000000,249.00,-
26-JUN-2008,BALRAMCHIN,Balrampur Chini Mills,CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKET MAURITIUS PVT.LTD.,SELL,2558400,85.11,-
26-JUN-2008,EDUCOMP,Educomp Solutions Limited,SIMPLICITY AB A/C SIMPLICITY INDIEN,SELL,92178,2980.95,-
26-JUN-2008,GUJALKALI,Gujarat Alkalies & Chem ,CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKET MAURITIUS PVT.LTD.,SELL,390600,174.56,-
26-JUN-2008,GWALCHEM,Gwalior Chemical Industri,MANISH VRAJLAL SARVAIYA,SELL,214778,107.42,-
26-JUN-2008,GWALCHEM,Gwalior Chemical Industri,MANSUKH SECURITIES & FINANCE LTD,SELL,147017,104.78,-
26-JUN-2008,GWALCHEM,Gwalior Chemical Industri,VISARIA SECURITIES PVT. LTD.,SELL,218715,104.44,-
26-JUN-2008,HINDOILEXP,Hind. Oil Exploration ,MERILL LYNCH CAPITAL MARKETS ESPANA S A SUB,SELL,742400,131.00,-
26-JUN-2008,INDIACEM,The India Cements Limited,MORGAN STANLEY A/C MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER MAURITIUS CO,SELL,1883467,154.49,-
26-JUN-2008,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,CLEAN FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD,SELL,3585278,40.97,-
26-JUN-2008,NIITTECH,NIIT Technologies Limited,MATHRAN SECURITIES PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,161239,135.03,-
26-JUN-2008,RANEENGINE,Rane Engine Valve Limited,ASTUTE COMMODITIES & DERIVATIVES Pvt Ltd,SELL,37307,158.51,-
26-JUN-2008,RANEENGINE,Rane Engine Valve Limited,MANSUKH SECURITIES & FINANCE LTD,SELL,61038,158.27,-
26-JUN-2008,SASKEN,Sasken Commu Techno Ltd,MBL & COMPANY LTD.,SELL,223423,150.94,-
26-JUN-2008,SRF,SRF Ltd.,MORGAN STANLEY A/C MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER MAURITIUS CO,SELL,563602,124.51,-
BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - June 26 2008
Deal Date Scrip Code Company Client Name Deal Type * Quantity Price **
26/6/2008 531223 ANJANI SYNTH JITENDRA HARIVANSH JOSHI S 61209 38.90
26/6/2008 532981 ANU LABS SUMMIT COMMUNICATIONS PVT LTD B 75000 370.18
26/6/2008 532981 ANU LABS VIPUL PANNALAL SHAH B 132389 373.60
26/6/2008 532981 ANU LABS VIPUL PANNALAL SHAH S 132389 371.92
26/6/2008 532946 BANG ACME CRAFT PVT. LTD S 88939 268.32
26/6/2008 500058 BIHAR SPON I MODI RUBBER LTD S 434796 14.46
26/6/2008 512332 BIRLA CAP SHEARSON INV AND TRADING CO PVT LTD B 3000000 5.85
26/6/2008 512332 BIRLA CAP BIRLA BOMBAY PVT LTD S 3000000 5.85
26/6/2008 505923 CEEKAY DIAKI I S F SECURITIES LTD B 54125 60.56
26/6/2008 524388 CRAZY INFOTE PRATIBHA VILAS KAKADE B 425376 4.15
26/6/2008 532271 CYBERMAT INF S V ENTERPRISES B 331193 5.03
26/6/2008 532271 CYBERMAT INF S V ENTERPRISES S 331193 4.96
26/6/2008 532022 FILAT FASH JITENDRA HARIVANSH JOSHI B 45000 28.50
26/6/2008 500147 FLAP PROD EQ TILAKRAJ MEHTA B 97086 324.00
26/6/2008 500147 FLAP PROD EQ RITU KOCHAR S 97086 324.00
26/6/2008 532129 HEXAWARE LTD DALI LIMITED B 6390000 54.25
26/6/2008 532129 HEXAWARE LTD CLSA MAURITIUS LTD S 6390000 54.25
26/6/2008 531602 KOFF BR PICT LAXMI CAP BROKING PVT LTD S 51659 24.50
26/6/2008 512047 NATRAJ FIN PARI STOCK TRADING PVT LTD B 83000 48.35
26/6/2008 512047 NATRAJ FIN HEMAL PRADIP MEHTA S 71150 48.35
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT BABULAL S. BHANSALI HUF B 53000 206.26
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT AYODHYAPATI INVESTMENT PVT LTD B 1107636 210.50
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT S. M. NISSAR B 212071 211.40
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT PRABHUDAS LILLADHER PVT. LTD. B 276102 210.46
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT N D NISSAR B 214494 209.35
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT KAUSHIK SHAH SHARES SEC PL B 83056 219.17
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT BHAVARLAL BABULAL JAIN B 374322 215.64
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT BHANDARI RAKHI KALESH B 95150 209.15
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT MURALI K R PENUMETSA B 60000 226.76
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT BHAVARLAL BABULAL JAIN S 374322 214.41
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT BHANDARI RAKHI KALESH S 95150 207.19
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT MURALI K R PENUMETSA S 60000 198.47
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT BABULAL S. BHANSALI HUF S 53000 211.90
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT AYODHYAPATI INVESTMENT PVT LTD S 1122636 213.80
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT S. M. NISSAR S 212571 211.65
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT PRABHUDAS LILLADHER PVT. LTD. S 276102 210.78
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT N D NISSAR S 214494 209.73
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT KAUSHIK SHAH SHARES SEC PL S 86056 219.69
26/6/2008 532986 NIRAJ CEMENT DHARMRAJBHAI BHABHLUBHAI WALA S 83160 203.12
26/6/2008 532988 RANE ENGVL MANSUKH STOCK BROKERS LTD B 56746 158.65
26/6/2008 532988 RANE ENGVL MANSUKH STOCK BROKERS LTD S 56499 157.97
26/6/2008 500044 RAYBAN SUN O GLOBE CAPITAL MARKET LTD B 190528 109.16
26/6/2008 532323 SHIVA CEMENT I S F SECURITIES LTD B 619540 8.89
26/6/2008 526981 SHRI BAJRANG JDM SECURITIES B 55298 27.00
26/6/2008 531249 WELL PACK PA SAMIR SURESHBHAI SHAH HUF B 22210 23.11
Post Session Commentary - June 26 2008
The Indian market made a smart come back in the final hours of the session on the back of short covering of the ahead of the expiry of the June derivatives contract. The market opened on a handsome note tracking the favoring cues from the global markets like the US Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to keep the interest rates steady at 2%, which was widely expected and signaled that it was in no hurry to raise them. But the market was not able o sustain at the higher levels and pare its gains but selective buying at the final hours led the market close in positive territory. The volatility gripped the market throughout the trading session. From the sectoral front, the oil and gas and metal ruled the market during the session as most buying was witnessed from these baskets. The market breadth was positive as 1483 stocks closed in green and 1143 stocks closed in red while 72 stocks remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex closed higher by 201.75 points at 14,421.82 and NSE Nifty ended up by 63.2 points at 4,315.85. The BSE Mid Caps closed lower by 4.62 points at 5,742.04 while BSE Small Cap closed up by 71.06 points at 7,129.08. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high 14,421.82 and intraday low of 14,196.68.
Gainers from the BSE are Tata Communications 8.55%, Maytas Infra 8.27%, Bharat Forge 6.82%, Chambal Fertilisers 6.71%, Tata Chemicals 6.29%, Ambuja Cements 6%, Nagarjuna Fert 5.98%.
The Metal index closed higher by 158.27 points at 13,923.14. Gainers are JSW Steel 2.50%, SAIL 2.42%, Sterlite industries 2.34%, Nalco 2.13%, Sesa Goa 1.84% and Bhushan Steel 1.73%.
The Oil & Gas index closed up by 265.82 points at 9,677.38. Scrips that gained are Reliance industries 4.87%, Gail India 3.58%, RPL 1.85%, Cairn India 1.18% and ONGC 0.73%.
The Capital Goods index grew by 85.05 points to close at 10,887.23 as Kir Oil Eng 6.23%, Havells India 3.28%, L&T 1.98%, Kalpataru Power 1.51%, Siemens 1.40%, Crompton Greaves 1% closed in green.
The Reality Index closed lower by 105.42 points at 5,102.43. Losers are Phoenix mill 8.42%, Purvankara 7.34%, Ansal Infra 7.07%, HDIL 5.89%, Omaxe 5.79%, Parsvnath 5.73% and Sobha Dev 4.13%.
The IT index advanced by 86.91 points to close at 4,181.86 as Wipro 5.14%, HCL tech 5.01%, I-Flex 4.72%, Finance Tech 2.96%, Aptech 2.34% and Infosys 1.90% closed in green.
Market ends higher amid volatility
The market showed signs of easing off in the first half of the trading session as the Sensex dropped nearly 23 points, but a recovery in the afternoon and selective buying towards the close saw it end higher for the second consecutive session. Exhibiting sharp volatility in early trades, the Sensex resumed with a huge positive gap of 80 points at 14,301 and soon touched the intra-day high of 14,450 on sustained buying support. However, the market soon drifted into negative territory, as a sharp bout of selling pressure dragged the index to an intra-day low of 14,197. The Sensex once again notched up significant gains on renewed buying support before profit taking saw the Sensex shed some gains and end the session at 14,422, up 202 points. However, after a mixed outing Nifty ended higher at 4,316, up 63 points.
The market breadth was positive. Of the 2,698 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,482 stocks advanced, while 1,142 stocks declined and 74 stocks ended unchanged. Most of the sectoral indices ended with steady gains. However, the BSE Oil & Gas index gained 2.82% at 9,677 while the BSE IT index advanced by 2.12% at 4,181.
Select heavyweights helped the Sensex close at higher levels. Ambuja Cement rose 6% at Rs87.50, Wipro moved up 5.14% at Rs479.95, Reliance Industries advanced 4.87% at Rs2,239.25 and Cipla gained 4.36% at Rs216.65. Among the other major gainers, Satyam Computer Services jumped 3.28% at Rs459.80, Tata Motors notched up gains of 3.14% at Rs489.45 and HDFC gained 3.04% at Rs2,234.85. However, Reliance Communications dropped 2.61% at Rs490, Maruti Suzuki India tumbled 2.44% at Rs670, Hindalco shed 2.12% at Rs142.35 and Ranbaxy Laboratories lost 2.03% at Rs529.50. DLF, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank also ended in negative territory.
Select oil stocks rallied sharply. Gail India advanced 3.58% at Rs363.35, Reliance Petroleum added 1.85% at Rs173.55, Cairn India jumped 1.18% at Rs271.20 and ONGC gained 0.73% at Rs870.35.
Realty stocks declined sharply on sustained selling pressure. Phoenix Mill tanked 8.42% at Rs185, Puravankara dropped 7.34% at Rs170.35, Ansal Properties shed 7.07% at Rs78.85, Mahindra Life lost 6.01% at Rs476.10 and HDFC dipped 5.89% at Rs450.20.
Over 2.18 crore Chambal shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Nagarjuna Fertilisers (1.32 crore shares), Reliance Natural Resources (1.17 crore shares), Niraj Cement (1.09 crore shares) and IFCI (1crore shares).
Most BSE sectoral indices underperform Sensex
Short covering ahead of expiry of June 2008 derivatives contracts helped market move higher for the second straight session today. However, the market underwent choppy swings throughout the day. Asian and European markets were in the red. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries surged close to 4% on high volumes. Oil & gas, IT and metal stocks were in demand. However real estate stocks faltered.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, 25 June 2008, held interest rates steady at 2% on Wednesday, as widely expected, and signalled it was in no rush to raise them, even as it voiced greater concerns about inflation.
The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 201.75 points or 1.42% at 14,421.82. Sustained selling pressure after a firm start pulled the market in negative zone at one point of time in early afternoon trade. Sensex lost 23.39 points at day’s low of 14,196.68. The Sensex opened with an upward gap of 80.65 points at 14,300.72 and advanced further to touch a high of 14,449.81 in late trade. At the day’s high, the Sensex gained 229.74 points.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 63.20 points or 1.49% at 4,315.85. Nifty July 2008 futures were at 4252.95, a huge discount of 62.90 points as compared to spot closing.
As per reports, the marketwide rollover of positions from June 2008 contracts to July 2008 contracts in the derivatives segment stood at 74.40% while that of Nifty was 67%. June 2008 derivaties contracts expired today.
As per provisional data, foreign funds today, 26 June 2008, sold shares worth a net Rs 667.19 crore. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 395.64 crore.
The BSE Sensex is down 5,865.17 points or 28.91% in the calendar year 2008 so far from its close of 20,286.99 on 31 December 2008. It is 6,784.95 points or 31.99% away from its all-time high of 21,206.77 struck on 10 January 2008.
Sectoral indices on BSE displayed mixed trend today. BSE Power (up 0.43% to 2,454.81), BSE Realty index (down 2.02% at 5,102.43), BSE Metal index (up 1.15% to 13,923.41), BSE TecK index (up 0.60% to 3,217.92), BSE FMCG index (up 0.58% to 2,142.62), BSE Auto (up 0.88% at 3,894.75), BSE Consumer Durables index (down 0.42% to 3,767.06), BSE Bankex (down 0.07% at 6,471.59), BSE PSU index (up 0.46% to 6,082.71), and BSE Health Care index (up 0.46% at 4,209.15), BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.79% at 10,887.23), underperformed the Sensex.
The BSE Oil & Gas index (up 2.82% to 9,677.38) and BSE IT index (up 2.12% to 4,181.86), outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth was positive on BSE with 1468 shares advancing as compared to 1159 that declined. 75 remained unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.08% to 5,742.04 while the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.01% to 7,129.08.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 5185 crore as compared to Rs 5,265.18 crore yesterday, 25 June 2008. Turnover in NSE’s futures & options segment amounted to Rs 79103.71 crore as compared to Rs 81001.29 crore yesterday, 25 June 2008.
Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 17 advanced while the rest slipped.
India’s largest private sector company in terms of market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 3.92% to Rs 2219 on high volumes of 25.24 lakh shares. The stock had hit a high of Rs 2259 and low of Rs 2145.55 during the day. RIL will start pumping 25 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of natural gas by September from its D-6 field in the Krishna Godavari basin, the oil ministry said on Wednesday, 25 June 2008. It said in a statement that the output would be raised to 40 mmscmd by March 2009.
Software pivotals advanced on fresh buying as Fed's decision to keep rates steady bolstered expectations technology spending in US would remain firm. Satyam Computer Services (up 1.95% to Rs 453.90), Wipro (up 4.60% to Rs 477.50), and Infosys Technologies (up 1.50% to Rs 1774), and TCS (up 1.05% to Rs 887), advanced. Indian software exporters get a majority of their revenue from US clients.
ITC, the country’s biggest cigarette manufacturer in terms of sales gained 2.23% to Rs 190.50. The stock rose on reports that ITC Infotech, a $100 million, wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC, is reportedly set to pull out of its BPO equal joint venture with US-based Sitel Corporation.
Larsen & Toubro, the country’s largest private sector engineering company in terms of order book rose 1.95% to Rs 2358. The stock is currently trading 1:1 cum bonus.
Tata Motors (up 2.10% to Rs 484.50), Cipla (up 3.90% to Rs 215.70), and HDFC (up 1.43% to Rs 2199.80), edged higher from Sensex pack.
India’s largest bank in terms of net profit State Bank of India gained 1.40% to Rs 1220 after the state-run bank raised its benchmark prime lending rate by 50 basis points to 12.75% with effect from 27 June 2008. The bank made this announcement during trading hours today, 26 June 2007.
Select cement stocks gained on fresh buying. India’s largest cement company in terms of sales Ambuja Cements jumped 5.27% to Rs 86.90 on 4.61 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack.
ACC (up 0.57% to Rs 598.35), Mysore Cements (up 1.36% to Rs 29.90), UlttaTech Cement Company (up 3.33% to Rs 588.90), and Prism Cement (up 4.08% to Rs 34.40), advanced
Metal stocks, too, were in demand. Sesa Goa (up 1.86% to Rs 3431), JSW Steel (up 2.51% to Rs 1032), Steel Authority of India (up 2.09% to Rs 154), National Aluminium Company (up 2.46% to Rs 370.90), and Sterlite Industries (up 3.17% to Rs 731), gained.
India’s largest private sector steel manufacturer in terms of sales, Tata Steel gained 1.49% to Rs 754. The company reported 195.64% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 12349.98 crore on 415.04% spurt in total income to Rs 132110.09 crore in the year ended March 2008 over the year ended March 2007. The results are non comparable due to merger Corus Group with Tata Steel.
Realty stocks declined on fresh selling. DLF (down 2.68% to Rs 446), Indiabulls Real Estate (down 1.71% to Rs 325), Purvankara Projects (down 7.70% to Rs 169.70), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (down 6.17% to Rs 475.30), and Ansal Infrastructure (down 6.89% to Rs 79), edged lower.
Reliance Communications (RCom), the country’s second largest telecom services provider in terms of market capitalisation slumped 2.76% to Rs 495 on 22.98 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack. The stock had struck an intra-day high of Rs 518.25. As per recent reports, RCom’s proposed merger deal with South Africa based global operator, MTN is expected to close by first week of July 2008
Bharti Airtel (down 2.28% to Rs 762.20), Ranbaxy Laboratories (down 2.50% to Rs 531.75) and HDFC Bank (down 2.60% to Rs 1046.05) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Fertliser stocks surged after Chemicals and fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today said the Union cabinet has approved a new fertiliser policy. Tata Chemicals (up 5.18% at Rs 312.80), Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals (up 4.94% at Rs 40.35), Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals (up 4.82% at Rs 162.10), Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals (up 6.77% at Rs 81.20), Rashtriya Chemicals And Fertilizers (up 5% at Rs 56.20), Zuari Industries (up 0.98% at Rs 238) and National Fertilizers (up 5% at Rs 57.15), soared.
The existing fertiliser policy is likely to be renewed with new additions. The price of fertilisers based on phosphorus and potassium will be linked to import price parity, Paswan said.
The new fertiliser policy will be fix base rate for 17 items and will be for long term versus the current practice of yearly changes, reports suggest. Incentives would be offered to fertilizer manufacturers for producing DAP as an end product.
Reliance Industries was the top traded counter on BSE with turnover of Rs 559.39 crore followed by Reliance Capital (Rs 268.28 crore), Niraj Cement & Structurals (Rs 230.09 crore), Chambal Fertilisers (Rs 176.85 crore), and Anu’s Labs (Rs 167.75 crore), in that order.
Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals topped volumes charts clocking volumes of 2.18 crore shares followed by Nagarjuna Fertilisers & Chemicals (1.32 crore shares), Reliance Natural Resources (1.17 crore shares), Niraj Cement & Structurals (1.09 crore shares) and IFCI (1 crore shares), in that order.
Shares of a host of state-run banks rose. Allahabad Bank (up 3.80% to Rs 57.65), Bank of India (up 3.05% to Rs 243.50), Canara Bank (up 2.14% to Rs 181.05), and Vijaya Bank (up 1.13% to Rs 35.65), surged.
Rayban Sun Optics India was locked at 20% upper circuit at Rs 109.20 on BSE after its promoter Ray Ban Indian Holdings Inc proposed a voluntary delisting of the shares of the company from the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company made the announcement after market hours on Wednesday, 25 June 2008.
Aban Offshore was down 1.15% to Rs 3,120 despite receiving two orders totaling $55 million to provide offshore services for a total duration of 300 days.
UCO Bank rose 4.62% to Rs 36.20 on reports it may raise between Rs 300 to Rs 400 crore via a follow-on public offer in October/December 2008.
HCL Technologies rose 4.32% to Rs 273 after the company said Columbia Missouri Employers Mutual has selected HCL as the systems integrator for implementing Guidewire ClaimCenter® as its new claims system. The company made this announcement after trading hours on Wednesday, 25 June 2007.
Atlas Copco India slumped 10% to Rs 1,067.35 after the company said on Wednesday, 25 June 2008, its board has decided to defer a decision on buy back of shares. The company made this announcement after trading hours on Wednesday, 25 June 2007.
Coromandel Fertilisers galloped 9.39% to Rs 123.50 after the company formed a wholly owned subsidiary in Mauritius for channelising fututre investments abroad. The company made the announcement during market hours today, 26 June 2008.
European markets, which opened after Indian market, were trading lower. Key benchmark indices in United Kingdom, France and Germany were down by between 1.21% and 1.49%.
Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, dipped in negative zone after firm start today, 26 June 2008. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (down 0.79% at 22,455.67), Straits Times (down 0.16% at 2,981.81), China's Shanghai Composite (down 0.11% at 2,901.85), Japan's Nikkei (down 0.05% at 13,822.32), South Korea's Seoul Composite (down 0.02% at 1,717.42) and Taiwan Weighted (down 0.55% at 7,811.80), declined.
US markets ended on a positive note yesterday, 25 June 2008 after some volatile action following the Fed's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 4.40 points, or 0.04%, to 11,811.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 7.68 points, or 0.58%, to 1,321.97, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 32.98 points, or 1.39%, to 2,401.26.
The UPA-Left committee on the India-United States nuclear deal decided to convene another meeting to finalise its findings in the committee’s ninth meeting held yesterday, 25 June 2008.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, 25 June 2008, night discussed the outcome of the meeting of the United Progressive Alliance-Left panel on the India-US Nuclear Agreement. As per reports, the Congress president would consult allies before taking a decision on going ahead with the nuclear deal.
Oil steadied above $134 a barrel on Thursday, 26 June 2008, after dropping more than $2 on Wednesday as US government data showed a surprise increase in domestic crude stocks last week. The market will focus on the US economic data due later today to get a clearer picture of the economy and its impact on oil demand.
Daily Call - June 26 2008
As expected nothing came out of the Left-UPA panel meet on the Nuclear deal issue as they went through the motions of a talk and decided to meet later. The bright side of this stupid impasse is that the markets can relax and let go of their brace mode, which they were in. In the US, Bernanke and company decided to keep rates unchanged at 2% and shifted their concern from growth to inflation, but sounded less hawkish then what the markets had expected, prompting a sharp rally post meet in the Dow, which was quickly sold into, making the Dow end the day with just 4 points in the green.
We have the quadruple-witching day today. Bulk of the action which usually happens on the settlement day, seem to have taken place yesterday. A 38% retracement of the current fall that we have seen in the past six sessions in the Nifty, comes at 4325, which should act as a reistance. The call-put action indicates that the settlement should not be way out of the current range. How the markets close today may be of no relevance to predict how they will behave on Friday
Grey Market Premiums - Discounts
Bafna Pharmaceutical 40 7 to 10
Avon Weighing 10 5 to 7
Sejal Architectural Glass Ltd. 115 15 to 17
First Winners Ind. Ltd. 125 Discount
Archid Ply Ind. 74 4 to 7
Lotus Eye Care Hospital 36 to 38 Discount
KSK Energy Venture 240 to 255 Discount
Somi Conveyor Belting 35 4 to 6
Birla Cotsyn 15 to 18 3 to 4
Today's Pick - Century Textiles
We recommend a buy in Century Textiles and Industries from a short-term perspective. From the charts of the stock, we note that it has been on an intermediate-term downtrend, since its 52-week high of Rs 1,275, recorded in early January 2008. However, the stock found support just above the key long-term support level of Rs 500, where the 200-day moving average is positioned and reversed. This reversal was very sharp and the stock surged up 7 per cent with above-average volume on Wednesday. We see that there is an increase in volume traded over the past two trading session. We notice a positive divergence in the daily relative strength index that indicates the short-term bullishness. The daily moving-average convergence and divergence is also displaying positive divergence thus supporting our bullish stance. We expect the stock to move up until it hits our price target of Rs 640 in the forthcoming trading sessions. Traders with short-term perspective can buy the stock, while maintaining stop-loss at Rs 550
via BL
Market may start buoyant
The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, are expected to commence on a firm note and witness significant rally during intra-day trades, as international markets backed by firm US and Asian indices may help the sentiment remain buoyant. All the Asian indices are has scaled up nearly 1% each. On the technical front, the Nifty could test in the 4305-4300 range on the upside and has supports in the 4200 - 4150 range, while the Sensex has a likely support at 14000 and may face resistance at 14365.
US indices ended positive on Wednesday. The Dow Jones gained marginally by 4 points to close at 11812 while the Nasdaq ended 33 points higher at 2401.
Among the Indian ADRs trading on the US bourses ended on positive note, VSNL was the major gainer by 3.12%, followed by ICICI Bank up by 2.57%, Tata Motors 2.55%, Rediff 2.43%, MTNL 2.27% and Wipro 2.22, while Satyam Computer, Dr Reddy, HDFC Bank, Infosys & Patni Computers were up by 0.50-1% each.
Crude oil prices in the US markets slipped sharply, with the Nymex light crude oil for August delivery moving down by $2.45 to close at $134.55 a barrel. In the Commodity segment, the Comex gold for August series lost $9.30 to settle at $882.30 a troy ounce.
Pre Session Commentary - June 26 2008
The Indian Market is expected to have positive opening on the back of favorable global cues. On Wednesday, the Indian market closed in green due to the buying support in key indices. The domestic market opened on downbeat note and slipped sharply lower due to the sharp sale off in early session backed by RBI’s hike in the key lending rate and the CRR by 50 basis points each to curb inflation that hit a 13-year high early in June. RBI on Tuesday raised the key lending rate to 8.5% from 8.0% with immediate effect. RBI will raise the cash reserve ratio to 8.75% from 8.25% in two stages, to 8.5% from July 5 and to 8.75% from July 19. Further, market gained ground as investors bought shares at lower levels to close in green. From the sectoral front, metal, oil & gas, capital goods and reality stocks led the advance, while banks, IT and FMCG continued to drag. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 113.49 points at 14,220.07 and NSE Nifty ended up by 61.55 points at 4,252.65. We expect that market gain some ground during the trading session.
US markets closed higher on Wednesday after some volatile trading following the Fed''s decision to keep the interest rates unchanged. A drop in oil prices and moderately encouraging economic reports boosted the market. Yesterday, crude oil futures dropped $2.45, to settle at $134.55 a barrel after a report that showed U.S. fuel demand fell to its lowest level since January 2007 as record prices restricted the purchases.
The NASDAQ closed higher by 32.98 points at 2,401.26 along with S&P 500 up by 7.68 points to close at 1,321.97 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) advanced by 4.40 points to close at 11,811.83.
Indian ADRs ended up. In technology sector, Wipro advanced by (2.26%) along with Satyam by (1.09%), Infosys by (0.91%) and Patni Computers by (0.45%). In banking sector, ICICI bank and HDFC bank increased by (2.57%) and (1.57%) respectively. In telecommunication sector, Tata Communication and MTNL rose (3.12%) and (2.27%). Sterlite industries inclined (0.54%).
Today the major stock markets in Asia are higher. Hang Seng Index is trading higher by 160.72 points at 22,795.88 along with Japan’s Nikkei trading up by 59.43 points at 13,889.35 and Taiwan Weighted trading at 7,879.35 advanced by 24.29 points.
The FIIs on Wednesday stood as net buyer in equity and net seller in debt. The gross equity purchased was Rs3,366.20 Crore and the gross debt purchased was Rs0.00 Crore while the gross equity sold stood at Rs3,.92.10 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs187.40 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity reported was Rs274.10 Crore and net debt was (Rs187.40) Crore.
Today, Nifty has support at 4,172 and resistance at 4,345 and BSE Sensex has support at 13,938 and resistance at 14,524.
Derivatives expiry for June 2008 series to keep markets choppy
Local equities are likely to edge higher in opening trade today tracking advances in global markets. steady fall in crude oil prices will boost the sentiment further. Volatility is likely to remain high today as derivatives contracts for June 2008 series expire. As per reports, the marketwide rollover of positions from June 2008 series to July 2008 series stood at 62.50% while that of Nifty was 63%, as on Wednesday, 25 June 2008.
The US Federal Reserve eased investors concerns about an aggressive interest rate hike. The Federal Reserve in its two-day which ended yesterday, 25 June 2008, meeting held its key interest rate steady at 2% and reduced expectations for a rate hike at its next meeting.
Asian markets were trading higher today, 26 June 2008. China's Shanghai Composite surged 0.78% or 22.52 points at 2,927.53, Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.43% or 59.43 points at 13,889.35, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.71% or 160.72 points at 22,795.88, Taiwan Weighted gained 0.31% or 24.29 points at 7,879.35, Straits Times was up 0.62% or 18.50 pointsat 3,005.12. and South Korea's Seoul Composite shot up 0.85% or 14.53 points at 1,732.32
US markets ended on a positive note yesterday, 25 June 2008 after some volatile action following the Fed's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 4.40 points, or 0.04%, to 11,811.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 7.68 points, or 0.58%, to 1,321.97, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 32.98 points, or 1.39%, to 2,401.26.
Back home, equities staged a solid rebound yesterday, 25 June 2008 after touching fresh calendar 2008 lows in early trade. The initial jolt was caused by the Reserve Bank of India's move late evening yesterday, 24 June 2008, to hike the key lending rate in an aggressive attempt to combat over 11% inflation.
The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 113.49 points or 0.80% at 14,220.07 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty surged 61.55 points or 1.47% at 4,252.65 on that day
As per provisional data, foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 363.71 crore while domestic mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 529.87 crore yesterday, 25 June 2008.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 110.71 crore in the futures & options segment yesterday, 25 June 2008. They were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 1099.50 crore and sold index options worth Rs 720.12 crore. They were net sold of stock futures to the tune of Rs 282.69 crore and bought stock options worth Rs 14.02 crore.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices retreated after government inventory data showed a surprise increase in domestic crude supplies last week. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude settled down $2.45, or 1.79%, at $134.55 a barrel yesterday, 25 June 2008.
The UPA-Left committee on the India-United States nuclear deal decided to convene another meeting to finalise its findings in the committee’s ninth meeting held yesterday, 25 June 2008.
Meanwhile the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, 25 June 2008 night discussed the outcome of the meeting of the United Progressive Alliance-Left panel on the India-U.S. Nuclear Agreement. As per reports, the Congress president would consult allies before taking a decision on going ahead with the nuclear deal.
Meanwhile the Government's revenue collections from direct tax such as corporate and income tax continued the growth momentum and was up by 43.45% at Rs 49,411 crore during the April-June period (as of 21 June 2008) over the corresponding period last fiscal. The collection from corporate income tax stands at Rs 30,655 crore, growing by 39.81% over previous year, while the collection from personal income tax stood at Rs 18,756 crore showing a growth rate of 49.82% over previous year.
Morning Call - June 26 2008
Market Grape Wine :
In House :
Nifty at a support of 4195 and 4147 with resistance at 4305 and 4360 levels.
Cash : Buy NAG FERT TGT 42 with S/L 36.
Cash : RANBAXY above 545 TGT 560 with S/L 538.
Future : Buy SASKEN above 142 TGT 160 with S/L 137.
Out House:
Markets at a support of 13926 & 14041 resistance at 14453 & 14532 levels .
F&O Expiry today : Nifty might test 4350 levels on short covering .
Buy : Infy &v satyam
Buy : Bharti & Idea
Buy : HP & IOC
Buy : ONGC
Buy : JP & Unitech
Buy : Tisco & Sail
Dark Horse : Wipro , JP , INFY , Ongc , Bharti , IciciBank & Suzlon
Trading Calls - June 26 2008
Nifty (4253) Sup 4150 Res 4315
Buy Jindal Saw (538) SL 532 Target 548, 553
Buy JSW Steel (1005) SL 990 Target 1035, 1045
Buy RIL (2136) SL 2115
Target 2180, 2190
Buy Tata Tea (790) SL 782 Target 810, 815
Sell Aurobindo Pharma (288) SL 293 Target 278, 275
Fears rejected for time being
You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.
The market seemed to have rejected the exaggerated fears of the RBI move as benchmark indices advanced after a four-day drubbing. But don't accept the gains as a reversal in sentiment as yet. Most of the gains could be attributed to the short-squeeze ahead of the F&O expiry today. Things are not looking too bad for the bulls this morning either. US ended higher (though off the day's highs) after the Federal Reserve left its key rates steady and expressed concern on rising inflation.
However, the US central bank gave no signal on what will it do over the next few months as far as interest rates are concerned, though it did say that downside risks to the US economy had eased somewhat. Another positive is that oil prices have cooled off just a tad on the back of an unexpected gain in US fuel inventories. Markets also gained in Europe and are also up this morning in Asia.
We expect our markets to follow the global trend and inch further up, driven by further short covering. Having said that, considerable risks still remain in the system due to multi-year high inflation and rising interest rates. The political situation still remains uncertain. So, don't go overboard. May sound too basic but remember to buy at dips and not at bouncy intra-day tops.
FIIs were net sellers of Rs3.64bn (provisional) in the cash segment on Wednesday while the local institutions poured in Rs5.3bn. In the F&O segment, foreign funds were net buyers of Rs1.11bn.
On Tuesday, FIIs were net buyers of Rs2.7bn in the cash segment. With this, they have pulled out nearly $6bn from the Indian market this year.
Results Today: Allcargo Global, Apar Industries, Cranes Software, Gateway Distriparks, JK Paper, Nitin Fire, Panacea Biotec, Radha Madhav, Religare, Surana Tele, Tata Steel, Tulip Telecom and West Coast Paper.
Asian stocks rose for the first time in six days, led by financial stocks, after the Fed said risks to US growth have diminished.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia climbed the most in more than six weeks after saying it has no need to raise additional capital. Another Australian bank, St. George Bank had its sharpest gain in a month after reiterating its forecast for earnings per share. Sony advanced in Tokyo.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.6% to 139.05 as of 10:48 a.m. in Tokyo. All 10 industry groups on the benchmark gained, led by an index of financial shares. The MSCI index is down 12% this year.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.2% to 13,861.25, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.6%. All Asian benchmark indexes rose today apart from Malaysia, which was little changed.
US blue chip stocks retreated from the day's high to end marginally higher, though technology shares managed to hold on to strong gains ahead of results from BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion and from Oracle.
Stocks rallied in the morning on falling oil prices and those gains accelerated up in the afternoon after the Fed decision. But a lack of clear signal on what will be the Fed's next move pressured the dollar, which led to oil paring earlier losses and dragged down stocks from previous highs.
The S&P 500 Index added 7.68 points, or 0.6%, to 1,321.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 4.4 points, or less than 0.1%, to 11,811.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 32.98 points, or 1.4%, to 2,401.26.
Market breadth was positive. Almost three stocks gained for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The Fed held a key short-term interest rate steady, as expected, and indicated that the downside risk to the economy had diminished. At the same time, the central bankers sharpened its focus on inflation in the statement accompanying the decision.
Central bankers kept the fed funds rate - an overnight bank lending rate that affects all kinds of consumer loans - unchanged at 2%. The Fed had cut the rate seven consecutive times since September, including an emergency cut in January at the height of the subprime mortgage crisis.
Although downside risks to growth remain, they appear to have diminished somewhat and the upside risk to inflation and inflation expectations have increased," the FOMC said in a statement.
The Dow had earlier rallied more than 100 points in a short-lived rally that followed the Fed decision. But weakness in select sectors caused the Dow to give up most of its gains and the other major gauges to cut gains.
After the close, Oracle reported higher fiscal fourth-quarter sales and earnings that topped forecasts, thanks to strong software revenue. That sent shares higher in extended-hours trading.
Also, Research in Motion reported quarterly sales and earnings that rose from a year ago, but were short of expectations. Shares plunged in extended-hours trading.
Thursday brings the final reading on first-quarter GDP growth, weekly jobless claims and the May existing home sales report.
US light crude oil for August delivery fell $2.45 to settle at $134.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a government report showed a surprise jump in crude inventories last week.
The government reported that May durable goods orders were basically flat, after falling 1% in April. The reading was in line with analysts' expectations.
Another report showed that new home sales declined 2.5% in May, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 512,000 units versus 525,000 in April. That was just above the expectations of economists, who were forecasting a rate of 510,000 units.
However, year-over-year, sales dropped 40%, reflecting the ongoing fallout in the housing market.
Gas prices fell for the third time in a row this week. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas fell to $4.067 from $4.069 the previous day, according to AAA.
In currency trading, the dollar declined versus the euro and rose against the yen. In the bond market, Treasury prices slumped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.16% from 4.10% late on Tuesday. COMEX gold for August delivery fell $9.30 to $882.30 an ounce.
European shares advanced. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index climbed 1.2% to 296.10, with Barclays shares rallying 6.5%. The UK's FTSE 100 closed up 0.4% at 5,666.10, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 1.3% to 6,617.84 and the French CAC-40 added 1.4% at 4,536.29.
Markets snapped a 5 day losing streak ahead of F&O expiry on Thursday. Markets started off the day with a negative gap reacting to RBI’s decision of hiking repo rate by 50bps with immediate effect and raising CRR by 50bps in two stages. However, after slipping to an intra-day low of 13,731 in opening moves key indices staged a smart and a gradual bounce back shrugging off RBI’s move.
The central bank on Tuesday hiked repo rate to 8.5% with immediate effect and raised Cash Reserve Ratio to 8.75% with an effect in two stages on 5 July and 19 July to curb increasing inflation.
The Sensex recovered nearly over 400 points and the Nifty almost recouped nearly 130 points from days low on back of short covering towards the end. Finally, the BSE benchmar Sensex gained 113 points to close at 14,220 and the Nifty index gained 61 points to close at 4,252.
Spice Communications rallied by over 33% to Rs72 after the Board of Directors of the company announces that they have entered into of a share purchase agreement between MCorpGlobal Communications Pvt Ltd and Idea Cellular for the sale of 281,489,350 equity shares of Rs10/- each of the company by MCorpGlobal Communications Pvt to Idea Cellular representing 40.8% of the total paid up equity capital of the company at a price of Rs77.30 per equity share.
The company approved the merger of company with Idea Cellular based on an exchange ratio of 49 equity shares of Idea Cellular for every 100 equity shares of the company held by the shareholders.
The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs73 and a low of Rs52 and recorded volumes of over 4,00,00,000 shares on NSE.
Shares of Idea Cellular also gained by 3% to Rs102 after the company announced that it would sell 464.7mn shares at Rs156.96 to Telekom Malaysia. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs105 and a low of Rs97 and recorded volumes of over 48,00,000 shares on NSE
Cairn India gained by 3% to Rs268 after the company’s unit plans to spend US$2bn to develop oil fields and build a pipeline over 18 months. A project to develop fields in the western state of Rajasthan will cost $850 million. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs269 and a low of Rs255 and recorded volumes of over 14,00,000 shares on NSE.
Ranbaxy Labs gained by 4% to Rs545 after the company announced that it received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and market Valganciclovir Hydrochloride Tablets, 450 mg. Total annual market sales for Valganciclovir HCl Tablets were US$239mn (IMS MAT: March 2008). Ranbaxy believes that it has First-to-File status on Valganciclovir tablets, thereby providing a potential of 180-days of marketing exclusivity, offering a significant opportunity in the future.
The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs548 and a low of Rs518 and recorded volumes of over 8,00,000 shares on NSE.
GMR Infrastructure gained by 3% to Rs99 after the company announced that it would develop 3,200MW of power in India. The company also said that it would spend US$1bn in India over 4-5 years. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs102 and a low of Rs94 and recorded volumes of over 29,00,000 shares on NSE.
Reliance Infrastructure surged by 4 percent to Rs948 after reports stated that it secured Rs120bn engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 3,960 mw Sasan ultra mega power project (UMPP) of group company Reliance Power.
Reliance Infrastructure will complete the first plant of the 6X660 mw project within 42 months and the remaining five will be commissioned with an interval of three months, stated reports. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs959 and a low of Rs876 and recorded volumes of over 8,00,000 shares on NSE.
Nagarjuna Construction fell by 4 percent to Rs146. The company announced that it secured three new orders aggregating Rs3.33bn. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs156 and a low of Rs143 and recorded volumes of over 4,00,000 shares on NSE.
The Government asks Reliance to supply KG gas first to urea plants, LPG plants and existing power projects. (BL)
Ranbaxy gets tentative USFDA nod for AIDS drug. (BL)
SAIL has affected an increase of 5-8% in all categories of steel from the first week of June for long-term contracts and is contemplating another hike in July last week or beginning August. (FE)
GMR Infrastructure Ltd has acquired 50% stake in Intergen, a power company based at Burlington in the US, for US$1.1bn. (BL)
Reliance Exploration and Production, a subsidiary of RIL has signed a cooperation agreement with the UAE-based petroleum company Crescent Petroleum. (ET)
Nagarjuna Construction has secured three new orders aggregating Rs3.3bn from Maharastra and Karnataka governments. (BL)
Tech Mahindra has inked an US$8mn deal with Telecom Fiji, subsidiary of Amalgamated Telecom Holdings. (ET)
NTPC to set up 4,000MW power plant in UP. (ET)
SBI to raise its lending rates by 50 basis points post RBI’s move to hike both CRR and repo rate by 50 basis points. (FE)
Reliance Infra has inked a partnership with US consultant Black & Veatch. (ET)
PSL Ltd announced that its order book stands at about Rs40bn. (ET)
Bangalore International Airport Ltd is seeking a valuation of up to US$2.5bn to raise about US$200mn in equity to fund the second phase of the airport’s development. (ET)
Birla Cotsyn (India) plans to raise about Rs1.4bn through an IPO. (ET)
IndusInd Bank raises Rs2.2bn through GDR issue. (BL)
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd intends to spin off its pharma retailing business into a separate company. (BL)
Mt Everest mineral water is fighting a legal battle with Bisleri International over the use of the word Himalaya in its mineral water branding. (ET)
Amtek Auto through its subsidiary Amtek Transportation Systems Ltd has signed a JV agreement with American Railcar Industries Inc based in St Charles, Missouri. (BL)
Wipro received marketing-related intangible assets valued at Rs4.9bn from the brands of Singapore-based FMCG Company Unza which it acquired last year. (ET)
ITC Infotech to pull out of its BPO equal joint venture with US-based Sitel Corporation. (BS)
Mauritius-based Frontline Strategy’s private equity fund bought a stake of 26% in Shriram SEPL Composites, a JV between Shriram EPC and Strategic Engineering. (BS)
GoAir plans to offload 26% stake. (ET)
Reva Electric Car Company is looking at licensing its vehicle technology to other carmakers. (ET)
Hindustan Copper Ltd has applied to the government of Madhya Pradesh for reconnaissance permit for an area of 1,600 sq km in the district of Balaghat. (FE)
HTMT Global to buy BPO co in Europe. (BL)
Economic News
The Centre plans to increase the credit exposure limit of 15% on bank lending to NBFCs for infrastructure projects, especially in the power sector. (FE)
The government’s direct tax collection increased by 43.5% to Rs494bn until June 21, on the back of higher advance tax payments by Companies. (FE)
The Indian Railways is hiking freight charges for ores and minerals, petro-products, coke and coal, fertilizers, foodgrains and a host of other commodities by 5-7%. (BL)
The Federation of All India Petroleum Traders has warned that petrol pumps across the country may go dry in the next 15 days if the government does not resolve the issues concerning sale of branded fuel. (ET)
The government is yet to decide the floor price at which it will purchase key kharif crops. (ET)
Airport operators are unlikely to cut landing and parking fees for airlines. (ET)
Auto parts suppliers to cut supplies to OEMs in the next quarter. (ET)
Bullion ends lower
Prices drop with falling energy price and steady interest rate
Bullion metals ended lower today, Wednesday, 25 June, 2008. The decline in energy costs reduced demand for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation. Prices also fell after Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady and also voiced concerns regarding inflation. Silver prices also fell today.
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 August delivery fell $9.4 (1%) to close at $882.3 ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Last week, gold prices ended higher by $30.6 (3.5%). Last month, in May, it ended with a gain of higher by $22.5 (2.5%). On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce. But prices have dropped since then.
This year, gold prices have gained 6% till date against a 6.5% drop for the dollar against the euro. Before May, 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%.
On Wednesday, Comex silver futures for July delivery fell 13.2 cents (0.8%) to $16.607 an ounce. Last week, silver has gained 5%. Silver has gained 11.8% in 2008 till date.
Silver prices ended the month of May 2008 with a gain of 2.7%. For April, it closed lower by 5.5%. Silver had 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 Wednesday, the dollar was little changed against the euro before the Fed's statement. After that, the dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of major currencies, was at 73.01, compared to 73.22.
The Federal Reserve today sharpened its focus on inflation, saying that the upside risks to inflation have increased. Fed held its target for short-term interest rates steady at 2%.
Since last September, Fed has axed interest rates seven times and brought it down to 2%. On the other hand, the ECB has kept rates unchanged at 4% since June, 2007. Gold gained 39% from 17 Sept as the Fed slashed rates from 5.25%.
In the crude market on Wednesday, crude oil fell more than $2 a barrel after record fuel prices cut consumption, causing U.S. inventories to rise for the first time in six weeks. Crude oil for August delivery declined $2.45 (1.8%) to settle at $134.55.
Gold had witnessed the greatest annual gain in twenty eight years by gaining $200/ounce (31%) in FY 2007 as lower interest rates had sent the dollar tumbling, and crude-oil prices rose to a record. In 2006, silver had jumped 46% while gold gained 23%.
At the MCX, gold prices for August delivery closed lower by Rs 121 (0.98%) at Rs 12,224 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 12,364 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 12,150 per 10 grams during the day’s trading.
At the MCX, silver prices for July delivery closed Rs 181 (0.8%) lower at Rs 23,387/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 23,560/kg and fell to a low of Rs 23,316/Kg during the day’s trading.
Crude settles lower
Prices drop by more than $5 during intraday but recover partly going into close
Crude futures fell by more than $5 today, Wednesday, 25 June, 2008 but then recovered partly to end lower by more than $2 as crude inventories climbed for the first time in six weeks. Rising crude prices led to lower consumption of oil and thereby increasing the inventory.
Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for August delivery today closed at $137/barrel (lower by $2.45/barrel or 1.8%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as low as $132 during intra day trading. Last week, it closed lower by 0.2%. Prices are 94% higher than a year ago. For the year, crude is up by 38% till date.
The EIA reported today that U.S. crude supplies climbed by 800,000 barrels to 301.8 million for the week ended 20 June. It was the first reported rise since early May. Supplies had fallen a total of nearly 25 million in five weeks.
EIA also reported that motor gasoline supplies fell 100,000 barrels to 208.8 million barrels. Distillate stocks were up 2.8 million barrels at 119.4 million barrels.
Brent crude oil for June settlement today fell $2.13 (1.6%) to $134.33 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The London benchmark rose 54% in FY 2007, the most since 1999 when prices more than doubled.
Natural gas in New York declined amid speculation moderate weather in the biggest consuming regions would reduce demand for gas-fired electricity for air cooling. Natural gas for July delivery fell 25.8 cents (2%) to settle at $12.753 per million British thermal units. The July contract expires tomorrow. The August contract fell 26 cents, or 2 percent, to $12.866 per million Btu.
Against this backdrop, July reformulated gasoline fell 6.9 cents to finish at $3.3941 a gallon and July heating oil dipped 6.4 cents to end at $3.7492 a gallon.
At the currency markets on Wednesday, the dollar was little changed against the euro before the Fed's statement. After that, the dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of major currencies, was at 73.01, compared to 73.22.
The Federal Reserve today sharpened its focus on inflation, saying that the upside risks to inflation have increased. Fed held its target for short-term interest rates steady at 2%.
Oil prices had shot higher by almost $11 a barrel on Friday, 06 June, 2008 scoring their biggest one-day gain in dollar terms as talk about a potential Israeli attack on Iran combined with a slide in the U.S. dollar. Prices had touched an all time high of $139/barrel but closed at $138.5. That was an all-time closing high.
At the MCX, crude oil for July delivery closed at Rs 5,726/barrel, lower by Rs 112 (1.9%) against previous day’s close. Natural gas for July delivery closed at Rs 551.2/mmbtu, lower by Rs 8.7/mmbtu (1.5%).
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