Post Session Commentary - Apr 23 2009

The Indian market rebounded elegantly from opening lows to close with handsome gains as Asian and European markets recovered from initial lows. All round buying contributed to break the three days losing streak. Positive US index futures also added to the northward journey. BSE Sensex extended gains to more than 3% and regained 11,000 level as well as NSE Nifty crossed 3,400 mark. The inflation for the week ended 11th April 2009, rose 0.26% in the 12 months as compared to the previous week''s annual rise of 0.18%.

The domestic market opened marginally up and suddenly turned choppy tracking mixed cues from the markets all over the world. On Wednesday, the US stock markets ended mostly lower as a late rally in the US markets distorted on sell-off in financials, along with some consumer and energy stocks. The volatility holds the domestic bourses due to political uncertainty along with earning concerns. The parliamentary elections will conclude on May 13, 2009. After touching red precinct in early trading, benchmark indices gained some ground on good buying witnessed in key stocks. Further market continued to extend its gains tracking recovery in the Asian markets. During final trading hours, market reported sharp rise to close in strong increase. From the sectoral front, investors on-loaded positions across most of the sectors. Besides, IT, Metal, Reality, Auto, Bank, Teck, Durables, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas stocks contributed to most of the rally. Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks also witnessed smart buying during the trading session. However, Consumer Durable index remained out of favour.

Among the Sensex pack 27 stocks ended in red territory and 3 in green. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained positive as 1441 stocks closed in green while 1056 stocks closed in red and 103 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 317.45 points at 11,134.99 and NSE Nifty ended up by 93.40 points at 3,423.70. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with gains of 51.40 and 37.10 points at 3,534.18 and 3,999.78 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 11,203.28 and intraday low of 10,758.97.

Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are Wipro Ltd (11.11%), Tata Steel (8.98%), Grasim Industries (7.21%), Reliance Infra (6.67%), Sterlite Industries (6.02%), Maruti Suzuki (6.02%), ICICI Bank (5.85%), Tata Motors (5.64%), Infosys Tech (5.11%), DLF Ltd (4.84%) and RCom (4.77%).

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Sun Pharma (0.42%), HUL (0.31%) and Bharti Airtel (0.25%).

The India’s wholesale price index rose 0.26% in the 12 months to April 11 as against the previous week''s annual rise of 0.18%, government data showed on Thursday. However, the annual inflation rate was 7.95% during the corresponding week of the previous year.

On the global markets front the Asian markets which opened before the Indian market, ended in green. The Asian stocks recovered on Credit Suisse Group''s Q1 results that beat market expectations. However, worry about coming earnings in the region and results of stress tests on U.S. banks hurt financials in Tokyo and Seoul. Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng, Nikkei 225, Straits Times index and Seoul Composite higher by 2.61, 336.01, 119.71, 16.57 and 12.78 points at 2,463.95, 15,214.26, 8,847.01, 1,859.98 and 1,368.8 respectively.

European markets which opened after the Indian market are trading mixed. In Frankfurt the DAX index is trading lower by 8.85 points at 4,585.57 whereas in London FTSE 100 is trading up by 15.26 points at 4,045.92.

The BSE IT stocks increased by (5.22%) or 126.38 points to close at 2,549.38 after rise in American depository receipts on 22 April 2009. Major gainers are Wipro Ltd (11.11%), Tech Mahindra (8.62%), Maphasis Ltd (5.36%), Oracle Fin (5.24%) and Infosys Tech (5.11%).

The BSE Metal index ended higher by (5.20%) or 350.14 points at 7,086.02 on hopes that the most terrible phase was ended for the global economy. Gainers are JSW Steel (9.04%), Tata Steel (8.98%), Steel Authority (6.79%), Sterlite Industries (6.02%) and Jindal Steel (4.52%).

The BSE Reality index advanced by (4.21%) or 90.25 points at 2,234.30. Scrips that gained are Housing Dev (11.71%), Indiabull Real (11.06%), DLF Ltd (4.84%), Anant Raj (3.48%) and Mahindra Life (3.03%).

The BSE Auto index gained (3.92%) or 128.82 points to close at 3,418.37 on optimism that lower interest rates and fall in fuel prices would encourage demand for vehicles which is mainly driven by finance. Main gainers are Ashok Leyland (12.01%), Amteck Auto (7.00%), Maruti Suzuki (6.02%), Tata Motors (5.64%) and Escorts Ltd (5.04%).

The BSE Bank index also ended higher by (3.16%) or 166.86 points at 5,441.19 mainly on expectations that lower interest rates will boost lending growth. Axis Bank (6.36%), ICICI Bank (5.85%), Kotak Bank (5.71%), Punjab National Bank (4.72%) and Bank of Baroda (3.65%) ended in positive territory.

Wipro ended up by 11.11%. The company has announced its fourth quarter numbers for the year FY09. It has posted a net profit of Rs. 1,011 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 and revenues stood at Rs 6,482 crore according to the Indian GAAP. According to the US GAAP, the net profit of the company was at Rs 910 crore in the fourth quarter.

The BSE Teck index gained (3.12%) or 63.49 points to close at 2,095.68. Gainers are Wipro Ltd (11.11%), Tech Mahindra (8.62%), Maphasis Ltd (5.36%), Oracle Fin (5.24%) and RCom (4.77%).

Reliance Communications surged 4.77%. The company has started the commercial roll out of post paid GSM services in the metropolis.

Larsen & Toubro gained 4.50%. The company is looking at the option to make a foray into the nuclear power plant construction business. The company plans to sign a cooperation agreements with General Electric Hitachi of the US and Areva of France, two of the largest vendors of reactors very soon.

KEC International Ltd advanced by 3.53%. The company has bagged two orders totaling to Rs. 95 crores in Mozambique and Namibia.

HDFC Bank closed up by 0.30%. The bank has announced the interest rates cut on deposits of some tenors by 25-35 basis points, with immediate effect.

Reliance Petroleum Ltd closed up by 2.62%. The company has announced the Unaudited results for the quarter & year ended March 31, 2009. The Company has posted a net profit after tax of Rs 840 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Total Income is Rs 37020 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.

Reliance Natural Resources Ltd gained 1.73%. The company has announced the Audited results for the year ended March 31, 2009, and has posted a net profit of Rs 698.702 million for the year ended March 31, 2009 as compared to Rs 685.987 million for the year ended March 31, 2008. Total Income has increased from Rs 3673.065 million for the year ended March 31, 2008 to Rs 4167.878 million for the year ended March 31, 2009.