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Thursday, May 14, 2009
BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - May 14 2009
Deal Date Scrip Code Company Client Name Deal Type * Quantity Price **
14/5/2009 523204 ABAN OFFSHO OPG SECURITIES P LTD B 285021 498.14
14/5/2009 523204 ABAN OFFSHO OPG SECURITIES P LTD S 285021 498.28
14/5/2009 526285 DIVYAJYO IND RAJENDRA KUMAR NYATI HUF B 144700 7.49
14/5/2009 526285 DIVYAJYO IND SATYANARAYANRATHI S 60000 7.43
14/5/2009 526285 DIVYAJYO IND SARVESHVARRATANJIRATHI S 60000 7.51
14/5/2009 505790 FAG BEARING INDIA PRIMA FUND S 125000 300.00
14/5/2009 509488 GRAPHIT INDI LIKHAMI LEASING LIMITED B 1210498 40.59
14/5/2009 532836 GREMAC INFRA SETU SECURITIES PVT LTD B 82075 34.66
14/5/2009 532836 GREMAC INFRA SETU SECURITIES PVT LTD S 87075 34.52
14/5/2009 532873 HOUSING DEV GENUINE STOCK BROKERS PVT. LTD. B 1629295 180.06
14/5/2009 532873 HOUSING DEV GENUINE STOCK BROKERS PVT. LTD. S 1629295 180.17
14/5/2009 530255 KAY POW PAP B.S.KHANDELWAL B 62740 7.96
14/5/2009 530255 KAY POW PAP BAMPSL SECURITIES LTD. S 60920 7.97
14/5/2009 531413 KIRAN PRIN P SAPATRISHI PROPERTIES PVT LTD B 30405 10.45
14/5/2009 531413 KIRAN PRIN P ROHYL CONSULTANCY PRIVATE LIMITED S 30000 10.46
14/5/2009 590004 LOTTE I CORP GLOBE CAPITAL MARKET LIMITED B 60668 533.68
14/5/2009 590004 LOTTE I CORP MEHUL . PAREKH S 26000 533.80
14/5/2009 503873 PRIYA SPIN L PARDEEPAGGARWAL B 95000 9.78
14/5/2009 503873 PRIYA SPIN L ABHI CAPITAL SERVICES LIMITED S 55000 9.78
14/5/2009 503162 REL CHEMO IN SETU SECURITIES PVT LTD B 18372 26.57
14/5/2009 503162 REL CHEMO IN TIRATHPRADYUMANPARIKH B 51633 25.58
14/5/2009 503162 REL CHEMO IN TIRATHPRADYUMANPARIKH S 51633 26.56
14/5/2009 503162 REL CHEMO IN INDUSTRIAL FINANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA LTD S 36000 24.81
14/5/2009 526753 ROSELABS LTD INDERVADANJAIN B 100000 10.00
14/5/2009 526753 ROSELABS LTD ZAMEERPAWANKUMARAGRAWAL S 84826 10.00
14/5/2009 526753 ROSELABS LTD SHIVKUMAR AGARWAL S 96570 10.00
NSE Bulk Deals to Watch - May 14 2009
Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
14-MAY-2009,ABAN,Aban Offshore Ltd.,PRB SECURITIES PRIVATE LTD.,BUY,192713,496.16,-
14-MAY-2009,BHARTISHIP,Bharati Shipyard Limited,SUNDARAM MUTUAL FUND A/C SUNDARAM GROWTH FUND,BUY,178610,112.74,-
14-MAY-2009,BIRLAPOWER,Birla Power Solutions Ltd,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,2804028,3.00,-
14-MAY-2009,GRAPHITE,Graphite India Limited,THE EMERALD COMPANY LIMITED,BUY,1100000,42.50,-
14-MAY-2009,HDIL,Housing Development and I,GENUINE STOCK BROKERS PVT LTD,BUY,1767561,180.09,-
14-MAY-2009,ISPATIND,Ispat Industries Limited,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,BUY,6689740,14.41,-
14-MAY-2009,ABAN,Aban Offshore Ltd.,PRB SECURITIES PRIVATE LTD.,SELL,192713,495.92,-
14-MAY-2009,BIRLAPOWER,Birla Power Solutions Ltd,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,2616033,3.03,-
14-MAY-2009,EDUCOMP,Educomp Solutions Limited,FEDERATED GLOBAL INVESTMENT MGMT,SELL,113800,2407.70,-
14-MAY-2009,FAGBEARING,Fag Bearings India Ltd,INDIA PRIMA FUND,SELL,175000,300.00,-
14-MAY-2009,GRAPHITE,Graphite India Limited,AMRABATHI INVESTRA PVT LTD,SELL,775664,42.50,-
14-MAY-2009,HDIL,Housing Development and I,GENUINE STOCK BROKERS PVT LTD,SELL,1767561,180.13,-
14-MAY-2009,ISPATIND,Ispat Industries Limited,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,SELL,6614436,14.42,-
Post Session Commentary - May 14 2009
Indian market closed on negative note despite trimming some of its losses due to recovery in European markets. Market lost momentum on warning of Fitch rating agency that the government needs to reduce fiscal budget deficit to evade having its credit rating lowered. Market exhibited volatility after an exit poll projection ruling Congress party-led coalition was marginally ahead in the race to form the new government. Meanwhile, India’s inflation dropped to 0.48% after increasing fro three successive weeks, for the week ended 2nd May 2009, from 0.70% in the previous week.
The market today opened sharply lower tracking negative cues from the markets all over the world. However, the US stock markets on Wednesday ended lower on the back of unexpected fall in advance retail sales data for April that led to the broad based selling on stocks. Further, Indian benchmark indices continued to trade lower amid volatility due to intense selling pressure. Though, market tried to recover a bit but was unable to hold momentum remained in red territory. Investors were cautious ahead of election results this weekend. BSE Sensex ended below 11,900 level and NSE Nifty closed below 3,600 level. From the sectoral front, Oil & Gas, Teck, Capital Goods, Metal and Bank stocks contributed to most of the selling pressure. However, Reality, Auto and Consumer Durables stocks remained in limelight as witnessed most of the buying from these baskets. Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks also gathered some favor during the trading session.
Among the Sensex pack 22 stocks ended in red territory and 8 in green. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained flat as 1213 stocks closed in red while 1263 stocks closed in green and 78 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.
The BSE Sensex closed down by 146.74 points at 11,872.91 and NSE Nifty ended lower by 41.80 points at 3,593.45. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with gains of 15.48 and 23.94 points at 3,756.93 and 4,244.15 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 11,935.86 and intraday low of 11,695.52.
Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Sterlite Industries (5.52%), Bharti Airtel (4.13%), Tata Motors (3.04%), Wipro Ltd (2.78%), L&T Ltd (2.55%), ONGC Ltd (2.43%), ICICI Bank (2.36%), Sun Pharma (1.98%) and HDFC (1.64%).
Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are DLF Ltd (7.18%), Ranbaxy Lab (3.66%), Reliance Infra (2.03%), HUL (1.29%), RCom (0.85%) and Maruti Suzuki (0.75%).
Inflation fell to 0.48% after increasing fro three consecutive weeks, for the week ended 2nd May 2009, from 0.70% in the previous week. Inflation eased despite rise in prices of food prices like pulses, cereals and vegetables. However, prices of fruit declined along with prices of jet fuel. This is the ninth week in a row when inflation stood below one per cent.
On the global markets front the Asian markets which opened before the Indian market, ended lower as signs of distress among American consumers reduced hopes for a faster end to the global recession. Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng, Nikkei 225, Straits Times index and Seoul Composite ended lower by 23.88, 517.93, 246.76, 63.18 and 33.57 points at 2,639.89, 16,541.69, 9,093.73, 2,122.11 and 1,380.95 respectively.
European markets which opened after the Indian market are trading mixed. In Frankfurt the DAX index is trading down by 29.35 points at 4,698.26 while in London FTSE 100 is trading higher by 0.08 points at 4,331.45.
The BSE Oil & Gas stocks dropped by (1.54%) or 131.69 points to close at 8,408.12. Major losers are Essar Oil Ltd (5.95%), Cairn Ind (5.04%), ONGC Ltd (2.43%), Reliance (1.51%) and Reliance Pet (1.04%).
The BSE Teck index ended lower by (1.32%) or 30.08 points to close at 2,248.11. Tata Communication (5.79%), Balaji Tele (5.36%), Bharti Airtel (4.13%), IBN18 (3.28%) and Wipro Ltd (2.78%) ended in negative territory.
The BSE Capital Goods index lost (1.14%) or 96.45 points to close at 8,377.37 on profit booking. Main losers are Jyoti Struct (3.42%), Havells India (2.97%), L&T Ltd (2.55%), Walchand In (2.13%) and Suzlon Energy (1.56%).
The BSE Metal index closed with decrease of (0.98%) or 76.33 points at 7,736.66 as commodity prices slipped on the London Metal Exchange. Scrips that lost are Sterlite Industries (5.52%), Hndustan Zinc (5.36%), Gujarat NRE C (2.40%), Ispat Industries (1.77%) and JSW Steel (1.38%).
The BSE Reality outperformed the benchmark indices as ended up by (2.58%) or 59.14 points at 2,354.56 on hopes that lower rates will spur housing demand. Gainers are DLF Ltd (7.18%), Mahindra Life (4.29%), Indiabull Real (2.48%), Housing Dev (1.95%) and Akruti City (0.51%).
The BSE Auto index gained (0.62%) or 22.63 points to close at 3,701.63. Gainers are Bajaj Auto (7.49%), Bharat Forge (4.22%), Amtek Auto (4.02%), MRF Ltd (3.33%) and Herohonda Motors (1.47%).
Tata Motors dropped by 3.04%. The company said that it has received in excess of 2.03 lakh bookings for the Nano and collected almost Rs 2,500 crore. The company sold a total of 6.10 lakh forms.
Ambuja Cements Ltd fell 0.07% despite the company will add 6 million tons capacity by the end of the current calendar year following rise in demand from rural markets.
Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd spurted by 19.98% after consolidated net profit jumped 67.56% to Rs 36.06 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q3 December 2008.
DLF closed up by 7.18%. The country’s largest real estate company, is looking to raise Rs.10,000 crore in the next 2-3 years through sale of its treasury investments, land parcels and real estate projects.
Four Soft Limited gained 3.28%. The company recently completed implementation of its Warehouse Management Software - 45 eLog through its subsidiary Four Soft Netherlands B.V. at Midi Integrated Logistics B.V. (Midi), a Netherlands based freight forwarding and third party (3PL) logistics company, with an established international network, covering various geographical locations. Midi has been partnering with Four Soft for its various software requirements for more than a decade now.
SBI ended marginally up by 0.45%. The bank on Tuesday cut deposit rates across various maturities by up to 50 basis points. This is the second time in this month that SBI is cutting its deposit rates. Earlier this month, the lender had cut interest rates on all tenure deposits by 25 basis points.
Turnover slides
May 2009 futures of RIL, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank at a premium
Nifty May 2009 futures were at 3608.25, at a premium of 14.80 points over the spot closing of 3593.45. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment tumbled to Rs 50988.41 crore from Rs 64035.11 crore on Wednesday, 13 May 2009.
Reliance Industries (RIL) May 2009 futures were at a premium at Rs 1918.20 compared to the spot closing of Rs 1908.95.
ICICI Bank May 2009 futures were at premium at Rs 539 compared to the spot closing of Rs 536.25.
Axis Bank May 2009 futures were at a premium at Rs 641.75 compared to the spot closing of Rs 637.55.
DLF May 2009 futures were at a discount at Rs 244.60 compared to the spot closing of Rs 250.10.
In the cash market, the S&P CNX Nifty lost 41.80 points or 1.15% at 3593.45.
Small-cap, mid-cap indices edge higher as exit polls show UPA has a slight edge over NDA
The key benchmark indices fell for the second straight day after the exit polls indicated a fractured mandate in the just concluded parliamentary election. Rating agency Fitch's warning that the government needs to cut fiscal deficit to avoid having its credit rating lowered also weighed on sentiment. Volatility in index heavyweight Reliance Industries
, banking and IT stocks caused volatility in the key benchmark indices. Capital goods stocks were weak.
The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 146.74 points or 1.22%, off close to 60 points from the day's high, and up close to 180 points from the day's low.
Even as some blue chips fell, select non-Sensex stocks surged after exit poll results showed the ruling Congress party-led coalition was marginally ahead in the race to form the new government. Both the BSE Small-cap index and the BSE Mid-cap index rose, outperforming the Sensex.
Inflation based on the wholesale price index rose 0.48% in the year through 2 May 2009, lower than previous week's annual rise of 0.7%, data released by the government at about 12:00 IST showed.
While current economic conditions are prompting many governments to undertake counter-cyclical stimulus measures, the recent deterioration in India's fiscal position accentuates underlying structural weaknesses in public finances that, if unaddressed, could undermine sovereign creditworthiness, Fitch said in a statement today, 14 May 2009. Fitch, currently has a BBB- rating on India, its lowest investment grade rating.
The stock market was volatile. A setback in global stocks and exit polls showing a fractured mandate in the parliamentary elections which were concluded on Wednesday, 13 May 2009, triggered a weak opening of Indian stocks. The market soon cut losses after the exit polls showed the ruling Congress party-led coalition viz. the UPA was marginally ahead in the race to form the new government. The exit polls indicated that both the UPA and NDA will need smaller allies to gain a parliamentary majority.
The recovery gathered steam in mid-morning trade. The recovery proved short-lived. After a steep slide, the market once again cut losses later.
Consumption and investment decisions will be significantly impacted by any signs that the new government is unstable.
Volatility on the bourses may remain high in the near futures ahead of the formation of the next government at the Centre. The counting of votes will take place on Saturday, 16 May 2009. A party/alliance needs 272 seats in the 543-member parliament to claim power at the Centre.
The exit polls commissioned by various news channels to get a sense of the shape of the next government at the centre predicted a badly fractured mandate, with the Congress-led UPA shown holding a slight edge over the BJP-led NDA. Neither the UPA nor NDA were shown anywhere close to the halfway mark, making it clear that they'll have to do business with parties bracketed with the Third Front and the Fourth Front.
Six television networks forecast UPA - the ruling alliance led by Congress may emerge just ahead of its chief rival headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. CNN-IBN predicted Congress and its allies will get as many as 205 seats compared with a maximum 185 for the opposing coalition. Star News-Nielsen and News X gave the Congress-led bloc 199 seats to 191 for the BJP grouping.
According to reports, the Congress-led UPA may get the chance to have first go at forming the next government, which is always an advantage in a hung parliament. Regional parties including BSP, SP, AIADMK, TDP, PMK, MDMK, JD(S) and TRS, hold key to the formation of the next government, reports suggest. Regional parties like the AIADMK, TDP, PMK, MDMK, JD(S) and TRS, had come together with the Left to form the Third Front, but the cracks within that alliance are already evident and it may well be each party for itself once the numbers are known.
The Nitish Kumar-led JD (U)'s anticipated good showing in Bihar could place the Bihar chief minister in the position of having some options, though he would not like to part company with the BJP and jeopardize his state government unless the benefits of doing so are commensurate and there is a reasonable chance of his winning the next assembly elections in Bihar in the company of the Congress.
While states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand are likely to deliver a serious setback to the Congress and the UPA, leaving their tally severely depleted compared to 2004, others like Kerala, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab and Orissa could help repair most of this damage, and in fact help the Congress to gain a few seats.
For the NDA, Bihar and Jharkhand appear to be acting as a cushion against the shocks in Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh, both the Congress and NDA, it would appear, are poised to make modest gains, as is the BSP, all at the expense of the SP.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat has repeatedly said that the Third Front would not back either the Congress or the BJP.
Fears of a fractured mandate in the parliamentary election had pulled the market lower in what was a highly volatile trading session on Wednesday 13 May 2009. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 138.38 points or 1.14% to 12,019.65 on that day.
Indian market has risen sharply in the past two months on hopes the worst of the global economic recession may be over. From a 3-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009, the Sensex jumped 3,997.63 points or 48.98% to 12,158.03 on Tuesday, 12 May 2009, its highest closing in more than seven months.
Heavy buying by foreign funds aided the strong surge. Foreign funds are aggressively buying Indian stocks. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 4085.20 crore on Wednesday, 13 May 2009. FII inflow in May 2009 totaled Rs 9616.10 crore (till 13 May 2009) while their inflow in calendar year 2009 totaled Rs 9972.70 crore.
European stocks were weak. Key benchmark indices in France and Germany were down by between 0.55% to 0.57%. But UK's FTSE was up 0.06%.
Asian stocks fell today as an unexpected drop in US retail sales and a decline in commodity prices dimmed the earnings outlook for electronics and metals producers. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, fell by between 0.9% to 3.04%.
Trading in US index futures showed the Dow could fall 43 points at the opening bell on Thursday 14 May 2009. The futures swung between gains and losses.
US markets finished at their session lows on Wednesday, 13 May 2009 dragged down by financials. HSBC, Bank Of America and JP Morgan Chase were among the key losers. The Dow lost 184.22 points, or 2.2%, to 8,284.89. The S&P 500 index fell 24.43 points, or 2.7%, to 883.92, while the Nasdaq Composite index declined 51.73 points, or 3%, to 1,664.19.
US retail sales fell for the second straight month, down 0.4%, in April 2009 amid weak gasoline and electronics sales. In other data, business inventories declined 1% in March 2009, compared with a 1.4% drop in February 2009.
The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 146.74 points or 1.22% to 11,872.91. The Sensex fell 83.79 points at the day's high of 11,935.86 in mid-morning trade. At the day's low of 11,695.52, the Sensex fell 324.13 points in early trade.
BSE clocked as turnover of Rs 4547 crore, lower than Rs 9,678 crore on Wednesday 13 May 2009.
The S&P CNX Nifty fell 41.80 points or 1.15% to 3,593.45. Nifty May 2009 futures were at 3608.25, at a premium of 14.80 points over the spot closing of 3593.45. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment tumbled to Rs 50988.41 crore from Rs 64035.11 crore on Wednesday, 13 May 2009.
The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.41% to 3,756.93 and the BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.57% to 4244.15. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
Small-cap and mid-cap indices have risen sharply in the past two months. From a low of 2553.49 on 9 March 2009, the BSE Mid-Cap index has risen 1203.44 points or 47.12%. From a low of 2,866.68 on 9 March 2009, the BSE Small-Cap index has galloped 1377.47 points or 32.45%.
The BSE Sensex has risen 2,225.60 points or 23.06% in calendar year 2009.
Coming back to today's trade, the BSE Realty index (up 2.58%), the BSE Auto index (up 0.62%), the BSE Consumer Durables index (up 0.59%), the BSE PSU index (up 0.23%), the BSE FMCG index (up 0.03%), the BSE Healthcare index (down 0.06%), the BSE Power index (down 0.12%), the BSE IT index (down 0.38%), the BSE Bankex (down 0.66%), the BSE Metal index (down 0.98%), outperformed the Sensex.
The BSE Oil & Gas index (down 1.54%), the BSE TECk index (down 1.32%), the BSE Capital Goods index (down 1.14%) underperfomed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive in contrast to a weak breadth earlier in the day. On BSE, 1,263 shares rose as compared with 1,213 that fell. A total of 78 shares remained unchanged.
From the 30 share Sensex pack, 23 stocks fell and the rest gained.
India's largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 1.51% to Rs 1,908.55 on profit taking after a recent surge. The stock was volatile. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,928.50 and a low of Rs 1,884. Analysts expect strong growth in bottom line in coming quarters from sale of gas which it started pumping last month from its deep-sea field off the east coast.
Late last week, Ratnagiri Gas & Power, which supplies electricity to the western Indian state of Maharashtra, agreed to buy natural gas from an offshore field operated by Reliance Industries.
Shares of India's biggest state-run oil exploration firm by revenue Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) fell 2.43% after crude oil prices fell on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, even as the US Energy Information Administration reported fall in inventories. Crude oil fell 72 cents to $57.97 per barrel. The fall in crude oil prices would result in lower realizations from crude sales for oil exploration firms.
The International Energy Agency today, 14 May 2009, cut its world energy demand outlook for 2009.
But PSU OMCs rose on fall in crude oil prices. BPCL and Indian Oil Corporation, rose by between 0.44% to 2.46%. But HPCL fell 0.08%. Lower oil prices will reduce underrecoveries at the state-run oil firms on domestic sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene at a controlled price.
DLF rose 7.18% after Macquarie Group raised the rating on the stock to 'neutral' from 'underperform', saying a large bulk deal by the founders has eased liquidity concerns. Founders of DLF raised Rs 3,860 crore by selling a 9.9% stake in realty major DLF to institutional investors yesterday, 13 May 2009, morning.
Other realty stocks, Indiabuuls Real Estate , Housing Development & Infrastructure, Akruti City rose by between 0.51% to 2.48%.
Outsourcing focussed IT stocks fell on US government plans to scrap tax incentives that encourage American firms to ship jobs overseas. India's second largest software services exporter by sales Infosys was down 0.49% to Rs 1,566.15. The stock hit a high of Rs 1569.90 and a low of Rs 1533.60. Its American depository receipt (ADR) fell 4.68% on Wednesday 13 May 2009.
India's largest software services exporter by sales TCS was down 0.36% to Rs 620.20. The stock hit a high of Rs 628 and a low of Rs 606. TCS said on Wednesday 13 May 2009 it has been selected for a five-year IT services contract for auto maker Volkswagen group's operations in the United Kingdom.
India's third largest software services exporter by sales Wipro was down 2.78% to Rs 364.35. The stock hit a high of Rs 371.90 and a low of Rs 358.30. Its ADR fell 3.99% on Wednesday.
Analysts, however, feel that US government's plan to scrap tax incentives that encourages American firms to ship jobs overseas is unlikely to dent business for Indian outsourcers. On 4 May 2009, US president Barack Obama announced plans to reduce tax breaks for US-based multinationals shipping jobs to places like India. Instead, the tax incentives would now go to those creating jobs inside the US, in places like the Buffalo city, New York.
Currently, US businesses that invest overseas can take an immediate tax deduction for expenses supporting their overseas investments. They can also defer the payment of US taxes on the profits they make from such investments. But, now the Obama Administration wants to ensure that companies do not receive deductions for expenses supporting their offshore investments until they pay tax on their offshore profits. This is intended to dis-incentivise US companies from retaining profits abroad.
Infosys said the proposal, if implemented, was unlikely to reverse the outsourcing of a gamut of services by US firms to Indian companies. "The current proposal, as we understand, is to close corporate tax loopholes on US multinational corporations and crack down on their overseas tax havens," the company said in a statement. "We do not believe that it has anything to do with IT outsourcing done by US corporations." Infosys said.
Bank stocks recovered after initial slide as inflation eased. India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank was down 2.36% to Rs 536.70, off the day's low of Rs 519.95. Its ADR fell 6.71% on Wednesday.
India's second largest private sector bank by operating income HDFC Bank was up 0.13% to Rs 1164.85, off the day's low of Rs 1,125. Its ADR fell 6.23% on Wednesday.
India's biggest bank in terms of branch network State Bank of India rose 0.45% to Rs 1267.85, off the day's low of Rs 1,225. State Bank of India has cut interest rates on deposits by upto 50 basis points effective Monday, 18 May 2009. Bank interest rates are falling in India after the central bank began slashing interest rates last October to lift a slowing economy.
India's biggest dedicated housing finance firm by operating income HDFC was down 1.75% to Rs 1,863.90, off the day's low of Rs 1,825.
Capital goods stocks fell on profit taking after a recently strong rally. India's biggest engineering & construction firm by revenue Larsen & Toubro (L&T), last month, lost 2.55%. L&T on 16 April 2009 said the company expects its order inflow to grow by 25-35% in the year ending March 2010 (FY 2010).
ABB, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Praj Industries fell by between 0.35% to 1.2%.
Cement stocks fell on recent report cement prices could fall by up to 10% in the coming months, pushed lower by new supply and slower construction activity during the monsoon season. ACC, Grasim Industries, Ambuja Cements, India Cements and Ultratech Cements, fell by between 0.07% to 0.59%.
Auto stocks fell on profit taking after a recent surge. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors lost 3.04% after its American depository receipt fell 8.55% to $7.17 on Wednesday, 13 May 2009 on the New York Stock Exchange.
India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra fell 0.39% even after the company said an industrial court has declared the 10-day old tool down strike at its automotive plant in Nashik Maharashtra as illegal. The court has ordered workers to report to their shifts. Workers at the Nashik plant had gone on a tool down strike on 4 May 2009 following the suspension of their Union President Madhav Dhatrak.
India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.45%. Maruti Suzuki will be launching its premium compact car Ritz on 15 May 2009 in Delhi.
Some healthcare stocks fell on profit taking after they rose recently as most of the healthcare firms reported better than expected Q4 March 2009 result. Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Piramal HealthCare, Biocon, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals fell by between 0.39% to 3.64%.
Lupin fell 4.35% on profit taking after a pre-result rally. Lupin reported a better-than-expected 15.3% rise in net profit to Rs 88.37 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q4 March 2008 due to a robust growth in the US and domestic markets.
Metal stocks fell as commodity prices slipped on the London Metal Exchange after a weak US retail sales report fanned concern falling consumer spending will curb demand for resources. Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries, Hindustan Zinc, Hindalco Industries fell by between 0.3% to 5.52%.
Cals Refineries clocked the highest volume of 2.96 crore shares on BSE. Unitech (1.7 crore shares), Suzlon Energy (1.36 crore shares), Reliance Natural Resources (1.02 crore shares) and Housing Development & Infrastructure (1 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.
Reliance Industries clocked the highest turnover of Rs 241.28 crore on BSE. DLF (Rs 222.49 crore), Reliance Capital (Rs 187.58 crore), Housing Development & Infrastructure (Rs 180.71 crore) and Reliance Infrastructure (Rs 171.07 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.
DOUBLE WHAMMY
While the exit polls may have given a fractured verdict, the markets will not mince words when they announce a clear verdict for the bears. The markets are likely to take a huge beating in early morning trade as every one heads for the door. It’s a double whammy for the markets. The exit polls, for what ever they are worth, indicate that the markets wish to see NDA in the seat of power is not materializing. The market has built in an NDA victory and that does not seem to be a possibility going by the exit polls. Secondly the global rally in the markets is coming off. The two will combine to wham the markets, a beating it has not received since March this year.
During a mid-day con-call yesterday, we had asked investors to construct a ratio bear spread. This will help protect them. It will be in place to remind that the protective powers of this ratio bear spread is only till 3100. beyond that profits will begin to vanish and at 2975, it will be no loss, no profit. And beyond that losses will begin to happen. Unless you are buying stocks with a clear long term holding or for dividend yields, do not fish in the troubled waters. Traders should have opportunities on both sides.
Marked may decline sharply on weak global cues
The market is likely to decline sharply after exit polls indicated that there could be a weak coalition government at the Centre. A setback in global equities led by US stocks will also weigh on Indian stocks which have run up sharply in the past two months.
Volatility may remain high in the near futures ahead of the formation of the next government at the Centre. The counting of votes will take place on Saturday, 16 May 2009. A party/alliance needs 272 seats in the 543-member parliament to claim power at the Centre.
The exit polls commissioned by various news channels to get a sense of the shape of the next government at the centre predicted a badly fractured mandate, with the Congress-led UPA shown holding a slight edge over the BJP-led NDA. Neither the UPA nor NDA were shown anywhere close to the halfway mark, making it clear that they'll have to do business with parties bracketed with the Third Front and the Fourth Front.
Fears of a fractured mandate in the parliamentary election pulled the market lower in what was a highly volatile trading session on Wednesday 13 May 2009. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 138.38 points or 1.14% to 12,019.65 on that day.
Indian market has risen sharply in the past two months on hopes the worst of the global economic recession may be over. From a 3-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009, the Sensex jumped 3,997.63 points or 48.98% to 12,158.03 on Tuesday, 12 May 2009, its highest closing in more than seven months.
Heavy buying by foreign funds has bolstered sentiment on the stock markets. Foreign funds are aggressively buying Indian stocks. As per the provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 4,106.96 crore on Wednesday, 13 May 2009. FII inflow in May 2009 totaled Rs 5530.90 crore (till 12 May 2009). The inflow in calendar year 2009 totaled Rs 5887.50 crore.
Asian stocks fell today as an unexpected drop in US retail sales and a decline in commodity prices dimmed the earnings outlook for electronics and metals producers. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, fell by between 1.03% to 3.14%.
US markets finished at their session lows on Wednesday, 13 May 2009 dragged down by financials. HSBC, Bank Of America and JP Morgan Chase were among the key losers. The Dow lost 184.22 points, or 2.2%, to 8,284.89. The S&P 500 index fell 24.43 points, or 2.7%, to 883.92, while the Nasdaq Composite index declined 51.73 points, or 3%, to 1,664.19.
US retail sales fell for the second straight month, down 0.4%, in April 2009 amid weak gasoline and electronics sales. In other data, business inventories declined 1% in March 2009, compared with a 1.4% drop in February 2009.
Closer home, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) will today, 14 May 2009, unveil inflation for the year through 2 May 2009. Annual rate of inflation as measured by the wholesale price index rose 0.7% in the through 25 April 2009 from previous week's annual rise of 0.57%
Pre Session Commentary - May 14 2009
Today domestic markets are likely to open negative as there are severe negative cues from across other markets of the world. US markets lost huge numbers on the back of poor retail figures for the month of April thus causing ripple effect on the Asian markets’ opening. On the domestic arena yesterday’s negative closing also exudes traders’ cautiousness and therefore one may witness intense selling pressures ahead of the Lok Sabha election results.
On Wednesday, the domestic markets closed in red after a volatile session. After a subdued opening the markets traded lethargic due to lack of cues from other markets. After a huge gain in yesterday’s trade traders booked some profits today. Hedge funds resorted to basket selling towards the later part of the session and therefore markets plunged at the end. Metal, IT, FMCG and PSU lost 2.07%, 1.56%, 1.54% and 1.47% respectively. Mid and Small cap stocks managed to escape the late selling pressure as they closed with marginal losses of 0.13% and 0.48% respectively. We expect the markets to be trading in deep red.
The BSE Sensex closed low by 138.38 points at 12,019.65 and NSE Nifty ended with loss of 45.85 points at 3,635.25. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with losses of 4.79 points and 20.50 points at 3,741.45 and 4,220.21 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 12,256.43 and intraday low of 11,934.44.
On Wednesday, the US stock markets closed negative. The unexpected decline in advance retail data announced ahead of the opening bell pulled the sentiments of traders resulting in intense selling. April total retail sales decreased 0.4%, and sales less autos decreased 0.5%. The April figures failed to meet the consensus forecast, which called for total sales to be flat and sales excluding autos to increase 0.2%. Retail giant Wal-Mart was also shattered as the retail sector slid by 3.3%.Hoewever its was Financial sectors that conceded a loss of 5.2%. US light crude oil futures for June closed lower by 1.4% at $58.02 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 184.22 points to close at 8,284.89 The NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) index declined by 51.73 points to close at 1,664.19 and the S&P 500 (SPX) closed low by 24.43 points at 883.92.
Today major stock markets in Asia are trading in deep red. Hang Seng is trading low by 593.87 points at 16,465.75 followed by Shanghai Composite which is low by 48.93 points at 2,614.28. Japan''s Nikkei is low by 272.82 points at 9,067.67, Strait Times is low by 57.65 points at 2,127.64. Seoul Composite is low by 31.45 points at 1,383.07 respectively.
Indian ADRs ended lower. In technology sector, Infosys ended down by 4.68% along with Wipro by 3.99%. Further, Satyam lost 4.28% whereas Patni Computers gained 0.50%. In banking sector ICICI Bank lost 6.71% and HDFC Bank dropped by 6.23%. In telecommunication sector Tata Communication decreased by 3.52% while MTNL gained 1.40%. Sterlite Industries decreased by 6.03%.
The FIIs on Wednesday stood as net buyers in equity and net sellers in debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs 2,542.50 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs 471.30 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs 2,048.70 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. 805.80 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs 493.80 Crore and Rs (334.50) Crore respectively.
On Wednesday, the partially convertible rupee ended at 49.30/31 per dollar, 40 paise weaker than previous close at 49.30/31. Rupee lost strength due to fall in local stock markets.
On BSE, total number of shares traded were 42.31 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs 4,943.62 Crore. On NSE, total number of shares traded was 97.94 Crore and total turnover was Rs 16,109.73 Crore.
Top traded volumes on NSE Nifty – Suzlon Energy with 85998220 shares, Unitech with 73790072 shares, DLF with 27280135 shares, ICICI Bank 16308825 shares followed by Tata Steel with 15241445 shares.
On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 1080708 with a total turnover of Rs 18,835.95 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 476617 with a total turnover of Rs 19,943.28 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 1271496 with a total turnover of Rs 23768.35 Crore and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 33193 and notional turnover was Rs 1,487.53 Crore.
Today, Nifty would have a support at 3,520 and resistance at 3,585 and BSE Sensex has support at 11,595 and resistance at 11,875.
Glenmark Pharma
We recommend a sell in Glenmark Pharmaceuticals from a short-term trading perspective. It is visible from the charts of Glenmark Pharma that in March it took support just above the key support level of Rs 120 and began to trend upward. The stock was on a medium-term uptrend till it encountered resistance at Rs 217 in late April. Subsequently, the stock reversed direction, triggered by the negative divergence displayed in the daily relative strength index (RSI).
On April 28, the stock tumbled 8 per cent, reinforcing the downtrend. Recently, the stock conclusively penetrated its medium-term up-trendline as well as the 21-day moving average. Since late April, the stock has been on a short-term downtrend. There is a bearish crossover in the daily moving average convergence and divergence indicator and it is heading towards the negative territory.
Our short-term outlook on the stock is bearish. We expect the stock’s short-term downtrend to continue until it hits our price target of Rs 150 in the upcoming trading sessions. Traders with short-term trading perspective can sell the stock while maintaining a stop-loss at Rs 177
Markets in profit booking mode
Nervousness in the market is likely to continue after the Sensex reported losses in yesterday's trades. Weakness in the global indices could make the investors jittery from taking any fresh position. Among the key local indices, the Nifty could decline to 3600 or 3550 on the downside while on the upside there is a near term resistance at 3680. The Sensex has a likely support at 11850 and may face resistance at 12150.
US indices ended negative on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 falling for a third straight session, after a weaker-than-expected retail sales report gave investors a reason to retreat. While the Dow Jones lost by 184 points to close at 8285, the Nasdaq ended 52 point lower at 1664.
All the Indian ADRs ended in the red on the US bourses except few. Rediff fell sharply and tumbled 12% followed by Tata Motors moved down 8.55% while ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Satyam, Wipro, Dr Reddy and VSNL declined over 3-6% each. However, Patni Computers and MTNL clsed in positive territory with marginal gains.
The Nymex light crude oil for June delivery slipped by 34 cents to close at $57.68. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for June series gained $2 to settle at $925.90 a troy ounce.
Bullion metals end mixed
Gold rises marginally while silver sinks
Precious metals ended mixed on Wednesday, 13 May, 2009 at Comex. Gold registered little rise but silver prices sank. Prices almost fell today due to the rebounding dollar and slipping crude 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 and also vice versa.
On Wednesday, Comex Gold for June delivery gained $2 (0.2%) to close at $925.9 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Last week, gold ended higher by 3%. Year to date, gold prices are higher by 4.7%.
For the month of April, gold lost 3.7%, the second consecutive monthly drop. For the month of March, gold fell 2.1%, down for the first month in five. But the metal gained 4.3% in the first quarter. Before March, for the month of February, gold ended higher by 7.4%. For January, 2009, gold had gained 3.9%.
On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce. But prices have dropped somewhat (15%) since then.
On Wednesday, Comex silver futures for July delivery lost 19.5 cents (1.5%) at $14.02 an ounce. Year to date, silver has climbed 18.1% this year. For 2008, silver had lost 24%.
In the currency market on Wednesday, the greenback rebounded from its recent losses and the dollar index, which weighs the strength of dollar against the basket of six other currencies was up 0.7% at $82.621.
Crude prices fell on Wednesday. Prices fell by 83 cents to $58.02/barrel.
In 2008, gold prices ended higher by 5.5%. The dollar index had gained 12% that year.
Last year, the weakening dollar and higher global demand for raw materials had led to records for commodities including gold. Gold reached a record in March 2008 as a U.S. housing slump and credit crisis spurred the Federal Reserve to slash borrowing costs. In the last move, the Federal Reserve has cuts its target bank lending rate to 0.25% from 5.25% in September, 2007. The Fed did it in nine steps.
Prior to 2008, 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. Silver had climbed 16% in FY 2007. In 2006, silver had jumped 46% while gold gained 23%.
At the MCX, gold prices for June delivery closed higher by Rs 200 (1.36%) at Rs 14,897 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 14,940 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 14,708 per 10 grams during the day's trading.
At the MCX, silver prices for July delivery closed Rs 108 (0.5%) lower at Rs 22,941/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 23,120/kg and fell to a low of Rs 22,724/Kg during the day's trading.
Crude pares early gains
Prices drop despite unexpected drop in crude inventories
Crude oil ended lower on Wednesday, 13 May, 2009. Prices gave up earlier gains and closed lower despite a surprising drop in crude inventories for last week that was reported by EIA.
On Wednesday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for June delivery closed at $58.02/barrel (lower by $0.83 or 1.4%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, it rose by more than 1% but then pared all its losses. Last week, crude ended higher by 10.2%.
Crude ended April higher by 2.9%. Previously, March trading ended up 10.9%. It rallied 11.3% in the first quarter. For the month of February, crude prices had ended higher by 1.5%.
Oil prices had reached a high of $147 on 11 July, 2008 but have dropped almost 61% since then. Year to date, in 2009, crude prices are higher by 22.8%. On a yearly basis, crude prices are lower by 38%.
The EIA reported today that U.S. crude inventories excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve decreased by 4.7 million barrels in the week ended 8 May, 2009. Market was expecting a gain of more than 1 million barrels. The drop in the inventories level was helped by weak imports. Oil imports averaged 8.7 million barrels per day last week, down 1.2 million barrels per day from the previous week.
EIA also reported that demand still remained weak. Total petroleum demand over the past four weeks averaged 18.2 million barrels a day, down by 7.9% from a year ago. In individual petroleum products, gasoline demand fell 1.2% from a year ago, distillate fuel, which include diesel and heating oil, dropped 14.1%, while jet fuel consumption declined 10.3%.
Also at the Nymex on Wednesday, June-reformulated gasoline rose 2.09 cents, or 1.3%, to $1.6888 a gallon, and June heating oil fell 1.7 cents, or 1.1% to $1.49 a gallon.
Natural gas for June delivery lost 11.9 cents, or 2.6%, to $4.333 per million British thermal units.
Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex.
At the MCX, crude oil for May delivery closed at Rs 2,909/barrel, higher by Rs 2 (0.06%) against previous day's close. Natural gas for May delivery closed at Rs 220.6/mmbtu, higher by Rs 4.3/mmbtu (1.98%).
Turnover soars
Bharti Airtel, DLF May 2009 futures at discount
Nifty May 2009 futures were at 3629, at a discount of 6.25 points as compared to the spot closing of 3635.25. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment surged to Rs 64035.11 crore from Rs 53677.79 crore on Tuesday, 12 May 2009.
Bharti Airtel May 2009 futures were at discount at Rs 792.50 compared to the spot closing of Rs 795.75.
Reliance Industries May 2009 futures were at discount at Rs 1933 compared to the spot closing of Rs 1936.10.
ICICI Bank May 2009 futures were at discount at Rs 548.05 compared to the spot closing of Rs 551.15.
DLF May 2009 futures were at a steep discount at Rs 226 compared to the spot closing of Rs 234.80
In the cash market, the S&P CNX Nifty lost 45.85 points or 1.25% at 3635.25.
Daily News Roundup - May 14 2009
RoC has asked Reliance Industries to clarify certain shareholder complaints received against the company’s proposed merger with Reliance Petroleum. (ET)
ONGC will invest Rs90bn over the next 3-4 years to enhance oil and gas output. (ET)
As per the petroleum secretary IOC, HPCL and BPCL may face Rs150bn revenue loss during the current fiscal. (FE)
BPCL’s Kochi Refinery is about to receive the mega main reactor for its new vacuum gas oil hydro desulphurisation unit. (BS)
Tata Power is approaching the Supreme Court seeking to overturn a government decision allowing Reliance Power to divert surplus coal from Sasan’s captive mines to other projects. (ET)
TCS bags a 5 year contract from Volkswagen to deliver IT transformation and support services. (ET)
SBI cuts deposit rates by 50bps. (ET)
L&T, Siemens VAI, SMS Siemag and Paul Wurth and other 8 companies have evinced interest for 9 turnkey contracts of NMDC’s Rs140bn steel plant. (FE)
Suzlon cancels its plan to repurchase bond amounting to US$166mn. (FE)
Suzlon’s promoters sell 2% stake in the company to raise Rs2.3bn. (Mint)
DLF plans to raise Rs100bn in the next 2-3 years through sale of its treasury investments, land parcels and real estate projects. (ET)
DLF may sell 66% in Hindoostan Mill for Rs3.1bn. (ET)
DLF promoters sold 9.9% stake for Rs38.6bn to buy out hedge fund DE Shaw’s investment in DAL and infuse fresh capital into it. (Mint)
DLF has exited the troubled Rs330bn public-private partnership township project at Dankuni in Hooghly district of West Bengal. (BS)
DLF promoters plan to list DAL in 18-24 months. (BS)
Unitech, Omaxe and Raheja Developers are waiving penalty on late payments so that customers do not quit. (BS)
Auto ancillary suppliers associated with the Nano project want Tata Motors to guarantee their loans for investing in Sanand. (BL)
Maruti is in talks with Reliance Industries and GAIL on the availability of natural gas and possibilities of more fuel stations. (BL)
M&M to offer trucks with 16-44 ton capacity by the end of this year. (BS)
Britannia has taken full control of the Bangalore based bakery foods retailer Daily Bread. (ET)
Godrej Consumer Products may consider a price hike in September following strong demand. (BL)
UltraTech does not intend to rein in expansion plans. (BS)
Max India is raising Rs1.5bn through preferential allotment of shares to IFC. (ET)
Lupin plans to increase its stake in Generic Health Pty Ltd, a major generics drug supplier in Australia, to over 50% in order to gain a major share of the growing Australian market. (BS)
AB Nuvo plans to deploy Rs10bn of surplus cash from its value business into growth businesses. (FE)
Educomp bags Rs838.2mn from the Gujarat government for introducing computer aided learning. (FE)
Usha Martin will achieve increased steel manufacturing capacity of 700,000 tons by June and 900,000 tons by March ‘10. (BL)
Maharashtra Seamless has deferred its plans to set up two separate steel plants by almost two years. (ET)
PE firm Actis plans to reject Swaraj Mazda’s rights issue. (ET)
CC&C Ltd bagged Rs1.8bn order as a part of the runway expansion at the Chennai airport. (BL)
FDI inflows during October ’08 - March ’09 stood at US$11bn even as foreign investors pilled out US$8.3bn during the same period. (ET)
Government plans to develop a National Gas Highway network to ensure supply across the country. (ET)
NHAI launches tax free bonds to raise Rs40bn. (ET)
India’s trade with US dipped 23% to US$8.2bn in January-March ’09. (ET)
A committee set up to resolve the controversy on spectrum allocation to the operators asked the government to allow them to share it among themselves for a fee. (ET)
Ministry of Communications plans to bring on a uniform levy regime for all the telecom companies. (ET)
TDSAT today allowed the broadcasters and direct-to-home service operators to negotiate for channels provided on DTH platform as add-on packages. (BS)
FICCI has sought reduction in corporate tax rate to 25 per cent and reintroduction of investment allowance, besides continuation of tax holiday benefits for housing, telecom and power sectors. (BL)
Excitement, exit-ment and absurdity!
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap.
The market movement may seem absurd. While there was lot of excitement on the cricket field (IPL T20), high drama is what we expect on the political front. With the grueling month-long election over, political parties have kicked off post-poll efforts to lure potential partners in crime.
Today, we see the key indices slipping at open due to weak global cues. Cricket is said to be a game of glorious uncertainties. The same also applies to Indian politics. Anything’s possible. So, brace for a bumpy ride.
A slew of exit polls have been announced. As expected, all indications point to a fractured verdict. The UPA has a slight edge, but the NDA is breathing down its neck. Attention will now shift to managing the arithmetic.
The President is also likely to play a crucial role. One will hear a lot of noises over the next few days – both before and after the results. This will give rise to speculation, uncertainty and of course increased volatility in the markets.
As a result, we would advise all to stay cautious and light before the clouds clear up.
Bank of Maharashtra, Dolphin Offshore, JK Paper, MRO-TEK and Voltamp Transformers will announce their results today.
FIIs were net buyers in the cash segment on Wednesday at Rs41.06bn while the local institutions poured in Rs1.06bn. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net buyers at Rs3.77bn. On Tuesday, FIIs were net buyers at Rs4.94bn in the cash segment, taking their total for the month and year to more than $1bn. Mutual Funds were net buyers at Rs3bn on the same day.
US stocks slumped on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 falling for a third straight session, as retail sales unexpectedly declined in April. Investors were also a little jittery about the string of banks rushing to raise capital to pay back the government bailout money.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 184 points, or 2.2%, to 8,284.89. The S&P 500 index fell 24 points, or 2.7%, to 883.92. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 52 points, or 3%, to 1,664.19.
Investors showed caution after a two-month rally that propelled all the major stock benchmarks by at least 30%. Stocks have risen since early March on bets that the US economy is close to turning a corner.
Retail sales fell 0.4% in April, according to a report from the Commerce Department released before the market open. Sales were expected to hold steady, according to a consensus of economists. Sales fell a revised 1.3% in March.
Sales, excluding volatile autos fell 0.5% in April, after dropping 1.2% in the previous month. Economists forecasts had called for a rise of 0.2%.
The number of US households facing foreclosure jumped 32% in April versus a year ago, according to RealtyTrac. More than 342,000 homes received notices of default in the month, up 1% from March.
In other economic news, March business inventories fell 1% after slipping 1.4% in the previous month. Economists expected inventories to have dropped 1.1%.
AIG shares declined as the company's CEO discussed restructuring plans at a House hearing about how the company plans to pay back billions in government loans. Shares rose 11.6%.
Intel was fined a record $1.45 billion by the European Union for allegedly anti competitive practices, a decision the chipmaker plans to appeal. Shares fell.
Freddie Mac posted a $9.9 billion quarterly loss after the market closed on Tuesday and also asked the government for another $6.1 billion in aid. Shares fell 7%.
GM shares started the day with another drop on concerns that it will have to file for bankruptcy, with the stock touching $1 per share, the lowest level since 1933. But GM rallied in the afternoon to finish 6 cents higher at $1.21.
Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.11% from 3.17% on Tuesday.
In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.
US light crude oil for June delivery fell 83 cents to settle at $58.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for June delivery climbed $2 to settle at $925.90 an ounce.
European shares dropped sharply. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell for a third session, down 2.7% to 200.72, with miners and banks skidding.
The UK's FTSE 100 closed down 2.1% at 4,331.37, as the Bank of England lowered its estimate on UK growth. With data also showing euro-zone industrial output slumping 20% in March, Germany's DAX 30 index slid 2.6% to 4,727.61 and the French CAC-40 index lost 2.4% to 3,152.90.
After a spectacular rally on Tuesday, a highly volatile market ended with sharp losses on Wednesday as most market participants remained wary of the election results which will be announced on Saturday.
The Sensex slipped by 138 points or 1.4% to close at 12,019 after touching a high of 12,256 and a low of 11,934. The index had opened at 12,201 against the previous close of 12,158.
The NSE Nifty lost 46 points or 1.25% to shut shop at 3,635. On the other hand, the Small-Cap and Mid-Cap shares also posted marginal losses with the corresponding BSE indices losing by 0.5% and 0.13%, respectively.
Selling was seen across the board, with Metal, IT, FMCG, PSU, Oil & Gas and Bankex losing by 0.5-2%. Consumer Durables index gained 0.1%.
In the Sensex Tata Steel, Sterlite, ONGC, M&M, JP Associates, Maruti and SBI ended in the red today. While the prominent gainers in the Sensex were ACC, HDFC, Grasim, Ranbaxy and Hindalco.
Outside the frontline indices, the top gainers included Yes Bank, Bajaj Auto, Mundra Port, Asian Paints, Century Textile, IDFC, Federal Bank, OBC, MTNL and Torrent Power.
Among the big losers in the broader market were REI Agro, Fortis Healthcare, Suzlon, Neyveli Lignite, REC, Areva, Opto Circuit, Cummins India and GMR Infrastructure.
The volatility will conotue to prevail on Dalal street ahead of the Lok Sabha results to be out on Saturday, but exit polls from various media outfits will start rolling in from this evening.
At the moment, there is no clarity on who will win the race to parliament. A fractured verdict is what everyone has discounted. A win for UPA may also be welcome unless it is heavily propped up by the Left. It is a big event risk and one should not load up too much on shares.
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