BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - May 22 2009

Deal Date Scrip Code Company Client Name Deal Type * Quantity Price **
22/5/2009 521070 ALOK INDUSTR SURESHKUMAR BHIKAMCHAND JAIN HUF S 2863816 18.31
22/5/2009 531223 ANJANI SYNTH RAKESH NIRANJANLAL AGARWAL S 60000 22.00
22/5/2009 530355 ASIAN OILFIE HITESHSHASHIKANTJHAVERI B 77132 61.05
22/5/2009 532493 ASTRA MICRO JMP SECURITIES PVT LTD B 409676 76.50
22/5/2009 531733 BAFNA SPINNI VINODPUKHRAJJAIN S 208300 1.80
22/5/2009 531719 BHAGIR CHE I SSVV AGRO FARMS PRIVATE LIMITED B 50500 50.92
22/5/2009 531719 BHAGIR CHE I VIJAYALAKSHMI INS AND PEST LTD S 101573 50.17
22/5/2009 590076 CAMSON BIO GIRISHKULKARNI B 130648 37.29
22/5/2009 590076 CAMSON BIO GRAND SLAM INVESTMENT PVT LTD S 200000 37.19
22/5/2009 531682 CAT TECHNOL BASMATI SECURITIES PVT LTD B 318131 5.06
22/5/2009 531682 CAT TECHNOL BASMATI SECURITIES PVT LTD S 167356 5.05
22/5/2009 532760 DEEP INDS AMRABATHI INVESTRA PVT LTD B 158722 97.35
22/5/2009 508860 DIAMANT INV VISHANDAS PARWANI B 6500 90.55
22/5/2009 508860 DIAMANT INV JITESH PARWANI B 6500 90.55
22/5/2009 508860 DIAMANT INV MANAKCHAND JAIN HUF S 13000 90.55
22/5/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS OPG SECURITIES P LTD B 93087 304.30
22/5/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS OPG SECURITIES P LTD S 93087 304.23
22/5/2009 522017 FLUIDOMAT LT KUNAL JAIN B 200000 15.50
22/5/2009 522017 FLUIDOMAT LT INDUSTRIAL FINANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA S 200000 15.50
22/5/2009 530945 GANGOTRI I&S TRI BUSINESS ASSOC PVT LTD B 50000 16.06
22/5/2009 532857 GLORY POLY UMESH DHAN SINGH B 87950 25.78
22/5/2009 532857 GLORY POLY UMESH DHAN SINGH S 87950 25.58
22/5/2009 532857 GLORY POLY INTEGRAL VINIMAY PRIVATE LTD S 101714 24.77
22/5/2009 532857 GLORY POLY MAVI BUSINESS VENTURE LTD S 107557 26.05
22/5/2009 530655 GOOD LUCK ST UNITED INDIA INSURANCE COMPANY LTD. B 20000 165.00
22/5/2009 530655 GOOD LUCK ST UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO. LTD. B 25000 165.00
22/5/2009 524164 IOL CHEM PH HETALCHETANMEHTA S 289367 95.41
22/5/2009 532081 K SERA SERA BASMATI SECURITIES PVT LTD B 371517 10.61
22/5/2009 532081 K SERA SERA S V ENTERPRISES B 956401 10.64
22/5/2009 532081 K SERA SERA ALKA INDIA LIMITED S 893417 10.58
22/5/2009 532081 K SERA SERA S V ENTERPRISES S 955401 10.57
22/5/2009 590003 KARUR VYSYA-PMS INDEA CAPITAL PTE LIMITED A/C INDEA ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND B 243000 297.50
22/5/2009 590003 KARUR VYSYA-PMS INDEA CAPITAL PTE LIMITED A/C INDEA ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND S 243000 297.50
22/5/2009 500304 NIIT LTD OPG SECURITIES P LTD B 1638670 47.04
22/5/2009 500304 NIIT LTD OPG SECURITIES P LTD S 1638670 47.12
22/5/2009 504058 NIPPO BATT DAIWA SECURITIES SMBC CO LIMITED S 26811 315.36
22/5/2009 532854 NITIN FIRE MUKUND SHETH HUF S 80000 275.99
22/5/2009 526747 P G FOILS LT TIRUMALA IRONS PVT LTD S 200412 25.31
22/5/2009 508941 PANASON CAR DAIWA SECURITIES SMBC CO LIMITED S 30000 107.79
22/5/2009 531769 PFL INFOTECH SARLAPANALALSHAH S 41150 3.77
22/5/2009 523445 RELIANCE INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUC OPG SECURITIES P LTD B 141261 1010.44
22/5/2009 523445 RELIANCE INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUC OPG SECURITIES P LTD S 141261 1011.66
22/5/2009 526753 ROSELABS LTD JAGDISHKUMAR AMRUTLAL AKHANI B 60195 10.55
22/5/2009 526753 ROSELABS LTD ZAMEERPAWANKUMARAGRAWAL S 70000 10.54
22/5/2009 514412 SARUP TANNER CHEVVUSUBBAREDDY S 39189 39.42
22/5/2009 500376 SATYAM COMP TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD. B 4922061 51.81
22/5/2009 500376 SATYAM COMP TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD. S 4924061 51.79
22/5/2009 500285 SPICEJET LTD JMP SECURITIES PVT LTD B 1432295 21.33
22/5/2009 512048 SPLASH MEDIA SHREEGOPALNATHMALKABRA B 10000 41.21
22/5/2009 512048 SPLASH MEDIA KIRIT V DAVE S 18204 41.09
22/5/2009 530419 SUMEDH FISCA MANOJ DUA HUF B 35854 8.90
22/5/2009 530419 SUMEDH FISCA RAJESH ROSS CHANDRAN S 35754 8.90
22/5/2009 531390 UPSURGE INVS KIRIT V DAVE S 65000 6.14

NSE Bulk Deals to Watch - May 22 2009

Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
22-MAY-2009,ALOKTEXT,Alok Industries Limited,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,BUY,2991019,18.88,-
22-MAY-2009,CHAMBLFERT,Chambal Fertilizers Ltd.,PACE FINANCIAL SERVICES,BUY,2083220,62.06,-
22-MAY-2009,EMCO,Emco Limited,MUTHA SARLA SHANTILAL,BUY,420724,77.00,-
22-MAY-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,BHARAT SECURITIES PVT LTD,BUY,92232,297.94,-
22-MAY-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,GANES BAZAR M/S,BUY,99551,298.20,-
22-MAY-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,INDEA ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND,BUY,77000,296.19,-
22-MAY-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,MBL & COMPANY LTD.,BUY,92779,297.92,-
22-MAY-2009,FSL,Firstsource Solutions Lim,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,2886137,23.71,-
22-MAY-2009,GISOLUTION,GI Engineering Solutions,SUNIL N KRISHNANI,BUY,1,5.45,-
22-MAY-2009,GLORY,Glory Polyfilms Limited,SWARAJ SHARES & SEC PVT. LTD.,BUY,103845,24.98,-
22-MAY-2009,IFCI,IFCI Ltd.,AMBIT SECURITIES BROKING PVT. LTD.,BUY,3879368,42.86,-
22-MAY-2009,ISPATIND,Ispat Industries Limited,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,BUY,8636499,20.39,-
22-MAY-2009,KSERAPRO,K Sera Sera Productions L,BASMATI SECURITIES PVT LTD,BUY,1089479,10.61,-
22-MAY-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,AMBIT SECURITIES BROKING PVT. LTD.,BUY,2545173,36.38,-
22-MAY-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,CLEAN FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD.,BUY,3993464,36.70,-
22-MAY-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,BUY,2465224,36.86,-
22-MAY-2009,NIITLTD,NIIT Limited,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,913461,45.31,-
22-MAY-2009,NIITLTD,NIIT Limited,FRANKLIN PRIMA FUND,BUY,1338840,47.02,-
22-MAY-2009,NOIDATOLL,Noida Toll Bridge Company,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,1468745,38.23,-
22-MAY-2009,RIIL,Reliance Indl Infra Ltd,C D INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD.,BUY,117273,1005.39,-
22-MAY-2009,RIIL,Reliance Indl Infra Ltd,GENUINE STOCK BROKERS PVT LTD,BUY,87517,1006.11,-
22-MAY-2009,RIIL,Reliance Indl Infra Ltd,PRB SECURITIES PRIVATE LTD.,BUY,82499,1013.64,-
22-MAY-2009,ROLTA,Rolta India Ltd.,OM INVESTMENTS,BUY,1030720,115.20,-
22-MAY-2009,SATYAMCOMP,Satyam Computers Ltd,TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD.,BUY,5015401,51.74,-
22-MAY-2009,WWIL,Wire and Wireless (India),ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,1895525,20.64,-
22-MAY-2009,ALOKTEXT,Alok Industries Limited,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,SELL,2816472,18.93,-
22-MAY-2009,CHAMBLFERT,Chambal Fertilizers Ltd.,PACE FINANCIAL SERVICES,SELL,1999880,61.96,-
22-MAY-2009,DSKULKARNI,DS Kulkarni Dev. Ltd.,BNP PARIBAS ARBITRAGE,SELL,172498,49.70,-
22-MAY-2009,EMCO,Emco Limited,PRAVIN SUWALAL BAFNA,SELL,420424,77.00,-
22-MAY-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,BHARAT SECURITIES PVT LTD,SELL,92232,298.38,-
22-MAY-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,GANES BAZAR M/S,SELL,99551,297.91,-
22-MAY-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,MBL & COMPANY LTD.,SELL,92779,298.45,-
22-MAY-2009,FSL,Firstsource Solutions Lim,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,2786137,23.82,-
22-MAY-2009,GISOLUTION,GI Engineering Solutions,SUNIL N KRISHNANI,SELL,50001,5.38,-
22-MAY-2009,GLORY,Glory Polyfilms Limited,SWARAJ SHARES & SEC PVT. LTD.,SELL,103845,25.14,-
22-MAY-2009,IFCI,IFCI Ltd.,AMBIT SECURITIES BROKING PVT. LTD.,SELL,3784808,42.88,-
22-MAY-2009,ISPATIND,Ispat Industries Limited,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,SELL,8109413,20.38,-
22-MAY-2009,KSERAPRO,K Sera Sera Productions L,ALKA INDIA LIMITED,SELL,1184000,10.58,-
22-MAY-2009,KSERAPRO,K Sera Sera Productions L,BASMATI SECURITIES PVT LTD,SELL,600029,10.59,-
22-MAY-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,AMBIT SECURITIES BROKING PVT. LTD.,SELL,2537051,36.51,-
22-MAY-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,CLEAN FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD.,SELL,3993464,36.73,-
22-MAY-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,SELL,2466232,36.64,-
22-MAY-2009,NIITLTD,NIIT Limited,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,913461,45.79,-
22-MAY-2009,NITINFIRE,Nitin Fire Protection Ind,NIRMIT FINVEST & PROPERTY PVT. LTD.,SELL,77000,281.75,-
22-MAY-2009,NOIDATOLL,Noida Toll Bridge Company,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,1452345,38.31,-
22-MAY-2009,PSL,PSL Limited,KMUK A/C SANSTONE CAPITAL INDIA MASTER FUND LTD,SELL,245914,120.33,-
22-MAY-2009,RIIL,Reliance Indl Infra Ltd,C D INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD.,SELL,117273,1006.26,-
22-MAY-2009,RIIL,Reliance Indl Infra Ltd,GENUINE STOCK BROKERS PVT LTD,SELL,87517,1006.74,-
22-MAY-2009,RIIL,Reliance Indl Infra Ltd,PRB SECURITIES PRIVATE LTD.,SELL,84898,1011.18,-
22-MAY-2009,ROLTA,Rolta India Ltd.,OM INVESTMENTS,SELL,1030720,115.27,-
22-MAY-2009,SATYAMCOMP,Satyam Computers Ltd,TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD.,SELL,5015401,51.83,-
22-MAY-2009,WWIL,Wire and Wireless (India),ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,1893525,20.66,-

Post Market Commentary - May 22 2009

Markets rolled its volatile journey towards northward to close with gains on firm cues from European markets along with positive US index futures. However, lower Asian stocks took beating on the domestic bourses during mid session. Further, stocks slashed losses and bounced back on hopes of economic reforms by the new UPA government. The come back of UPA government barring Left parties, raised hopes that the long-awaited reforms may finally take place and consequently will help the economy spring back from the slowdown.

The market today had gap down opening mirroring negative cues from the markets all over the world. The Asian markets were lower and the US stock markets on Thursday closed in red on the back of disappointing economic data and of downgrading of the UK economy to negative from stable by Standard & Poor. Further, Indian benchmark indices gained some ground on support of buying in key stocks. During mid session, market again slipped into red, though it managed to reduce losses and recovered later. After exhibiting volatility during the trading, finally market managed to hold its gains and ended above previous session’s closing. BSE Sensex ended above 13,800 level and NSE Nifty closed above 4,200 level. From the sectoral front, mainly Capital Goods, Bank, Pharma, Oil & Gas, IT and Power stocks supported the buying sentiments. Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks also followed the same trend. However, most of the selling was seen in Consumer Durable, Auto, Realty and Metal, stocks.

Among the Sensex pack 15 stocks ended in green territory and 15 in red. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained positive as 2139 stocks closed in green while 595 stocks closed in red and 49 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 150.61 points at 13,887.15 and NSE Nifty ended up by 27.60 points at 4,238.50. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with gains of 81.81 and 170.63 points at 4,755.68 and 5,513.16 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 13,936.93 and intraday low of 13,611.30.

Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are L&T Ltd (4.73%), ICICI Bank (4.54%), JP Reliance (3.13%), NTPC Ltd (1.93%), Sun Pharma (1.59%), Infosys Tech (1.11%), HDFC (1.09%), SBI (1.01%) and Reliance Infra (0.97%).

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Sterlite Industries (4.32%), M&M Ltd (3.57%), Tata Motors (3.29%), ONGC Ltd (2.74%), Hindalco (2.53%), DLF Ltd (2.34%), TCS Ltd (2.27%) and Grasim Industries (2.20%).

On the global markets front the Asian markets which opened before the Indian market, ended mostly lower tracking Wall Street losses overnight. There were concerns of the US losing its AAA rating and along with worries about the strength of the economic recovery in China. Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng, Nikkei 225 and Seoul Composite ended lower by 13.02, 136.97, 38.34 and 17.90 points at 2,597.60, 17,062.52, 9,225.81 and 1,403.75 respectively. However Straits Times index gained 34.30 points at 2,245.27.

European markets which opened after the Indian market are trading in green. In Frankfurt the DAX index is trading up by 53.73 points at 4,954.40 and in London FTSE 100 is trading higher by 35.98 points at 4,381.45.

The BSE Capital Goods index closed with increase of (2.90%) or 313.29 points at 11,108.25 on expectations of increased infrastructure spending by the Congress-led UPA government to increase growth. Scrips that gained are Praj Industries (12.11%), SKF India (8.37%), Everest Kanto (7.82%), Lakshmi MA W (7.65%) and Aiaengineer (5.81%).

The BSE Bank stocks ended higher by (1.8%) or 138.33 points to close at 7,827.56 on hopes that the UPA government will follow financial sector reforms. Major gainers are Karnataka Bank (14.14%), IDBI Bank (4.60%), ICICI Bank (4.54%), Kotak Bank (4.19%) and Axis Bank (3.78%).

The BSE Pharma index advanced by (1.77%) or 58.58 points to close at 3,377.31. Main gainers are Wockhardt Ltd (8.76%), Glenmark Pharma (8.57%), IPCA Lab (7.77%), Biocon Ltd (7.63%) and Opto Circuit (6.01%).

The BSE Oil & Gas ended up by (1.32%) or 127.54 points at 9,814.23. Gainers are Reliance (3.13%), Reliance Pet (2.91%), RNRL (2.35%), Cairn Ind (0.73%) and BPCL (0.67%).
The BSE IT index gained (1.06%) or 29.61 points to close at 2,829.93. Gainers are NIIT Ltd (23%), Tech Mahindra (13.93%), Aptech Ltd (13.27%), Mphasis Ltd (11.37%) and Moser Bayer (10.87%).

The BSE Consumer Durable index lost (1.13%) or 28.61 points to close at 2,507.79. Titan Ind (5.13%), Rajesh Export (1.03%) and Videocon Ind (0.62%) ended in negative territory.

Bharti Airtel gained 0.80%. The company is set to launch a low-cost online computer powered by Microsoft and Nivio. The Airtel Net PC is a plug-and-play online computer, including a 15-inch LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse and Nivio companion (which enables the PC to connect to a backend Linux-run server for storage and applications).

NTPC Ltd ended up by 1.93%. The Company has posted a net profit after tax of Rs 21133.50 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 as compared to Rs 13394.80 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Tata Steel closed down by 0.72%. The company at last has got the prospecting licence (PL) from the Jharkhand government for the Ankua iron ore mines.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd lost 1.23%. The company has acquired trademarks, product dossiers and marketing rights from Ochoa Laboratories Ltd (Ochoa) for its entire range of Dermatological and Lidrstyle products.

Federal Bank ended lower by 8.39%. The Bank has posted a net profit of Rs 1141.70 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 as compared to Rs 1028.60 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. Total Income has increased from Rs 8417.90 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 to Rs 10162.80 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.

Derivatives: Markets expected to remain range bond with downward bias

Consistent profit booking through out the next week can be expected although there won't be a steeper correction.

The market opened this week on 18th May 2009 cheering the UPA alliances thumping victory in the Lok Sabha election. A clear mandate for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in Lok Sabha election send stocks surging with trading on the bourses halted for the day at about 11:55 IST. For the first time in the history of the stock markets trading was halted because the market-wide circuit was applied due to a solid surge. Earlier, there have been instances when trading was halted when market-wide circuit filters were applied due to a market crash. This was much anticipated after the kind of number of seats the Congress has managed to win, since this will ensure that the government need not have to rely on the Left parties to form the government. This will enable the newly elected government to go ahead with various reforms, which was other wise consistently toppled by the left allies.

In a matter of a few seconds after the opening bell, the Sensex and the Nifty had breached the 15 per cent circuit barrier set by the exchanges, the Sensex gaining 1790 points and the Nifty 532. Trading was halted for two hours till 11.55 a.m. With in seconds of resumption of trade at 11.55 a.m., the second circuit breaker had to be applied as the indices went on to breach the 20-per cent level. The Sensex closed at 14,284 with its highest ever single-day gain of 2,110 points or 17.34 per cent, while the Nifty gained 652 or 17.7 per cent, to close at 4323.

But the bad news was that on this day the volumes were very narrow and the retail investors hardly participated in the gain. The combined volume in the bourses was Rs 3,103 crore (Both NSE and BSE cash and future and options). So the gain in the index was just a number, which might serve as a sentiment improver. Nothing more can be inferred from this. Before the market opened for trading on Monday the Singapore exchange, SGX Nifty Futures were trading up more than 11%. Now this is a fundamental err which has happened before. The price of the future of an index is based on the underlying index price. Before the underlying or any of the components of the underlying starts trading how can the future price be determined is a seriously debatable issue. Ideally the market consolidates after such a kind of rally, however this has not seen happening since the market rose without much volume. As a result the index would hover around this level until new trend either way would emerge. Consistent profit booking through out the next week can be expected although there won't be a steeper correction.

The S&P CNX Nifty for the full week ended May 22 surged surged 565.90 points to close at 4237.55. The market ended the week with a healthy 36.65 points higher as compared to the previous trading session.

In the domestic futures & options market the Nifty future contract remained at a premium to the underlying through out the week and it closed the week with a 10.45 points premium to the underlying. During the initial 2 days of the week the Nifty near month contract added significant open interest (OI), however after that it started shedding OI. The average volume during the current series till date was Rs 56,518.28 crore and the volume during the current week was Rs 63,802.08 crore as the volume considerably increased after the days when the market hit upper circuit level.

On 22nd May the Nifty May Open Interest (OI) shed 32.88 lakh shares and the total OI in Nifty May expiry stood at 3.02 crore shares. The mid month Nifty contract however added 34.03 lakh shares in OI and its total OI stood at 76.09 lakh shares.

During the previous week there was some activity in the Nifty 4000 strike call indicating that the market could easily cross this level on Monday as the market opens for trade. Now after the index hit the circuit limit on Monday, new OI were added in call strikes ranging from 4300 to 4900 strikes. Now these were call writing done at these levels and the trend continued through out the week indicating that the market has several strong resistances to cross if it has to maintain the upward momentum. On the other hand during these days the Nifty put strike ranging from 4000 to 4500 witnessed addition of OI due to aggressive put buying at these levels. Both these signs indicate bearish scenario as the market participants expects the market to consolidate at these levels. The option action on 22nd May was mixed. However as mentioned earlier, the market may not go into a complete profit booking mode as nobody has made profit. Had there been enough volume or had there been market wide participation on Monday we could have expected some correction. There would be intermittent profit booking, but that won't be substantial. Thus the market may remain flat until the expectations are translated into material developments and until the real economy improves. Fundamentally the Indian market looks expensive compared to the emerging market peers.

The Nifty 4300 strike call witnessed huge activity with fresh call being bought at this strike. The OI of 4300-strike call increased 4.60 lakh shares and stood at 26.53 lakh shares on 22nd May 2009. The open interest in the 4200 and 4500 strike call also increased to 3.24 lakh shares and 1.68 lakh shares whereas on the last day of the week the 4300 strike put added 1.97 lakh shares in OI.

The index put call ratio fell to 0.87 on 22nd May 2009 as compared to 1.21 during the previous trading session, whereas the stock put call ratio fell to 0.29 as compared to 0.35 during the previous session. Thus the market wide put call ratio was 0.85 as compared to 1.17 on 21st May 2009. The PCR indicates overbought scenario

The top ten contracts contributed to around 30% of the total traded volume in Futures on individual securities. RELIANCE was the most active future contracts on individual securities traded today with 30681 contracts and ICICIBANK was the next most active futures contracts with 28390 contracts being traded. Reliance OI fell by 5.68 lakh shares and the total OI was 72.46 lakh shares, whereas ICICI Bank OI fell to 1.47 crore shares. DLF OI fell by 22.56 lakh shares to 1.68 crore shares.

The market would remain range bond with a strong resistance at 4450-4500 levels. The expectation that is being built from the election outcome is an over reaction. This cannot be considered as a beginning of another bull market as for that to happen the global real economy has to improve. The expectations have to be translated into material outcome. The market discounts the good news as well as the bad news, but often it misses the reversals.

Market may extend gains on short-covering ahead of F&O expiry

The sentiment on the stock market remains upbeat on upgrade in earnings of India Inc as a comfortable victory for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in election means political stability for the next five years. Investors are likely to use a correction in prices to accumulate stocks.

Foreign funds may continue buying on expectations of a strong push for economic reforms by the government. Foreign funds bought Rs 15281.60 crore more shares than they sold in this month, till 21 May 2009 and bought Rs 15638.10-crore more shares than they sold in calendar 2009. Mutual funds which are sitting on a large cash pile are also likely to buy on dips.

In the near term, short-covering may push the market further higher ahead of the expiry of May 2009 derivatives contracts on Thursday, 28 May 2009. Volatility may rise as traders rollover positions to June 2009 contracts in the futures & options (F&O) segment.

A comfortable victory for the Congress-led coalition government in election has raised expectations of a strong push for economic reforms by the government. Dr Manmohan Singh who will be sworn in as the Prime Minister has reportedly prepared the broad contours of an economic revival plan to be taken up soon after the new government is formed, reports suggest. While recommendations to revive growth and ease the credit squeeze are likely to find a place in the plan, tax proposals are expected to be taken up as budget recommendations.

The new government is also likely to pursue disinvestment of state-run undertakings, reports suggest. Financial sector reforms are likely to get a push in the coming days, which were relegated to the back seat due to persistent opposition from the Left parties.

Investors are awaiting the allocation of the portfolio of key ministries in the new government. It remains to be seen who get the key ministries viz. power, transport and education sectors. Analysts say growth in these three sectors are key for India to achieve strong economic growth. If those seen as strong performers are given charge of these three ministries, the market may extend gains. As per reports, Congress's strong showing in election means reformers will almost certainly be named to key ministerial portfolios viz. finance, trade, defence and foreign affairs.

Morgan Stanley had raised India's stocks to “overweight” from “underweight,” saying never before had its model recommended overweighting India. The two-step upgrade reflected improvements in political risk, outlook for the business cycle and earnings growth, it said in a report on Monday, 18 May 2009.

Sensex up 275 points from the day's low; breadth strong

Key benchmark indices recovered after last two days' losses on expectations of a strong push for economic reforms by the government. Higher US index futures and firm European markets also supported the domestic boruses in what was a choppy trading session. Banking and capital goods stocks rose. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries surged. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 150.61 points or 1.1%, up close to 275 points from the day's low and off close to 50 points from the day's high.

The market was volatile. After a weak opening triggered by lower Asian stocks and overnight slide in US stocks, the market soon bounced back on expectations of a strong push for economic reforms by the Congress-led UPA government. It cut gains later. The market slipped into the red in mid-morning trade. The market cut losses after hitting fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade.

The market recovered in afternoon trade as European shares rose. The market pared gain after surging to fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. Volatility was high after 14:00 IST. Volatility may remain high over the next few days ahead of the expiry of May 2009 futures and options (F&O) contract next Thursday, 28 May 2009.

A comfortable victory for the Congress-led coalition government in election has raised expectations of a strong push for economic reforms by the government. Investors are awaiting the allocation of the portfolio of key ministries in the new government

Once the economic growth picks up, there will be a need to roll back excess liquidity from the banking system, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D Subbarao, said on Friday, 22 May 2009. The government's borrowing program has already expanded rapidly, he said adding that the large government borrowing is going against the Reserve Bank's efforts in trying to maintain interest rates low.

Subbarao said that pressure to have further fiscal stimulus will persist and that the central bank will manage government borrowings using all tools available. Subbarao said the central bank continues to support its forecast of 6% economic growth in the year ending March 2010.

European shares rose as miners advanced tracking higher metal prices on the London Metal Exchange. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were up by between 0.77% to 1.05%. European stocks had declined sharply on Thursday, 21 May 2009

Asian stocks fell in a choppy trade today on speculation the US will lose its top credit rating after a warning on Thursday, 21 May 2009, from rating agency Standard & Poor's that it may downgrade the UK government's credit ratings. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia were down by between 0.41% to 1.26%. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan and Singapore rose by between 0.28% to 1.55%.

The Bank of Japan acknowledged Friday for the first time in almost three years that there are signs of improvement in the economy. Economic conditions have been deteriorating, but exports and production are beginning to level out against the backdrop of progress in inventory adjustments, both at home and abroad, the central bank said at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. It added that government spending is set to increase, providing a further boost.

The pace of deterioration in economic conditions is likely to moderate gradually, leading to a leveling out of the economy, it said, marking a change from the Bank of Japan's previous gloomy assessments of continuing deterioration. The Bank of Japan kept the benchmark policy rate unchanged at 0.1%, as widely expected.

US markets finished off their lows of the session, but still logged a triple-digit losses yesterday 21 May 2009 as the Fed's lowered outlook and disappointing economic data shook investor confidence. The Dow fell 129.91 points, or 1.5%, to 8,292.13. The S&P 500 index fell 15.14 points, or 1.7%, to 888.33, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 32.59 points, or 1.9%, to 1,695.25.

Trading in the US index futures indicated Dow could rise 45 points at the opening bell on Friday, 22 May 2009. US market remains closed on Monday, 25 May 2009

US initial jobless claims dropped by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 631,000 in the week ended 16 May 2009, slightly higher than expected. The previous week's figures were revised higher.

US regulators on Thursday shut down BankUnited FSB, an ailing Florida lender, in the largest American bank failure this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said the bank's assets had been acquired by a newly chartered federal savings bank, BankUnited. BankUnited, the successor institution, will be the largest independent bank in Florida, as was its predecessor (BankUnited, FSB), FDIC said in a statement.

BankUnited, FSB is the 34th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the United States this year, and the third in Florida. The last bank to be closed in the state was Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral on 13 February 2009. BankUnited is the second biggest US bank failure during the current financial crisis triggered by a home mortgage meltdown, after the collapse last July of Indymac, a California mortgage bank.

Closer home, foreign institutional investors have been aggressively buying in Indian stocks. Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 146.90 crore on Thursday.

FII inflow in May 2009 totaled Rs 15,281.60 crore (till 21 May 2009) while their inflow in calendar year 2009 totaled Rs 15,638.10 crore.

In political news, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be sworn in for a second term along with 19 other ministers, including Pranab Mukherjee and P.Chidambaram, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday evening, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has announced.

The two non Congress leaders to find a cabinet berth are Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee.

Besides Mukherjee and Chidambaram, the Congress ministers who will take oath are A.K. Antony, S.M. Krishna, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sushil Kumar Shinde, M. Veerappa Moily, S. Jaipal Reddy, Kamal Nath, Vayalar Ravi, Meira Kumar, Murli Deora, Kapil Sibal, Ambika Soni, B.K. Handique, Anand Sharma and C.P. Joshi.

This will be followed by an expansion of the council of ministers, including ministers of state as well as those junior ministers who will hold independent charge of their portfolios, in the next few days, the PMO said in a statement.

DMK on Thursday said it has decided not join the the Congress-led UPA government but the party will provide support the government from outside. This after the talks between DMK and Congress over ministerial berth for DMK broke down

A major irritant was the Congress refusal to part with infrastructure ministries and instead offering the DMK portfolios of Labour, Food Processing and Textiles. The southern ally declared it would extend 'outside support' to the new government, preferring to sit out of the Ministry to accepting the same number of berths it had last time. The announcement came after three rounds of talks between leaders of the two parties and a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr. Karunanidhi.

Announcing the breakdown of talks, DMK leader T.R. Baalu said the Congress formula was unacceptable to his party. The Congress remained outwardly unfazed by the DMK decision. The DMK wanted five Cabinet berths to accommodate the two outgoing Union Ministers, A. Raja and Mr. Baalu, besides Mr. Karunanidhi's two children, M.K. Azhagiri and Kanimozhi, and his grand-nephew Dayanidhi Maran. Also, the DMK wanted four Ministries of State. Crowding the Ministry with members of one family was unacceptable to the Congress and this is an issue that it has taken up with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also.

Meanwhile, a comfortable victory for the Congress-led coalition government in election has raised expectations of a strong push for economic reforms by the government. Dr Manmohan Singh who will be sworn in as the Prime Minister today has reported prepared the broad contours of an economic revival plan to be taken up soon after the new government is formed, reports suggest. While recommendations to revive growth and ease the credit squeeze are likely to find a place in the plan, tax proposals are expected to be taken up as budget recommendations.

The telecom ministry has prioritised the much delayed auction of 3G airwaves and WiMAX spectrum. It has also prioritised introduction of a new spectrum policy.

The petroleum ministry has reportedly prepared a draft Cabinet note on a partial decontrol of petrol and diesel prices after which they will be linked to international movements.

The new government is also likely to pursue disinvestment of state-run undertakings, reports suggest. The disinvestment department under the finance ministry is reportedly working on expanding the list of companies in which the government could reduce its stake. Among these are Power Grid Corporation, Cochin Shipyard, and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam.

Financial sector reforms are likely to get a push in the coming days, which were relegated to the back seat due to persistent opposition from the Left parties.

The Congress party-led coalition has the support of 322 lawmakers, Prime Minister-elect Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday, 20 May 2009, giving it a clear majority in a new government. Congress said it has support of 274 members of the 15th Lok Sabha. In addition, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal sent letters of support for a Manmohan Singh-led government directly to the President, taking the support base to 322. Dr Singh was renominated as Congress Parliamentary Party leader on Tuesday (19 May 2009).

The Congress-led UPA defied predictions of a tight election and was only about 11 seats short of an majority from the 543 seats at stake in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election. Congress' alliance took 261 seats, sweeping aside its nearest rival, the bloc led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won only 159 combined. Congress, which alone won 205 seats, needs a handful of partners to reach the 272 seats needed to take power, and is expected to seek the support of more smaller parties or independents.

Meanwhile, the stock market will keep a close eye on the allocation of portfolios in the new government. It remains to be seen who get the key ministries viz. power, transport and education sectors. Analysts say growth in these three sectors are key for India to achieve strong economic growth. If those seen as strong performers are given charge of these three ministries, the market may extend gains.

As per reports, Congress's strong showing in election means reformers will almost certainly be named to key ministerial portfolios viz. finance, trade, defence and foreign affairs.

Veteran Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee is the frontrunner for the post of the finance minister. As per market talks, P Chidambaram could retain his home portfolio. Another senior leader Murli Deora may retain his old portfolio viz. petroleum. And A K Antony is also likely to retain defense portfolio. Jairam Ramesh may become Power minister

Trinamool Congress (TC) leader Mamata Banerjee is likely to be made Railway Minister

The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 150.61 points or 1.1% to 13,887.15. The Sensex rose 200.39 points at the day's high of 13,936.93 in late trade. At the day's low of 13,611.30, the Sensex fell 125.24 points in early afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 22.25 points or 0.53% to 4,233.15. Nifty May 2009 futures were at 4248, at a premium of 9.50 points over the spot closing of 4238.50. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment declined to Rs 68152.6 crore from Rs 71702.09 crore on Thursday, 21 May 2009.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 7086 crore lower than Rs 7,996.10 crore on Thursday 21 May 2009.

From a recent high of 14,302.03 on Tuesday, 19 May 2009, the Sensex had lost 566.49 points or 3.95% in two trading sessions to 13,736.54 on Thursday 21 May 2009. The Sensex is up 4239.84 points or 43.94% in calendar year 2009. From a 3-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009, the Sensex is up 5,726.75 points or 70.17%.

Coming back to today's trade, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.75% and the BSE Small-Cap index was up 3.19%. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.

The BSE Capital Goods index (up 2.9%), the BSE Bankex (up 1.8%), the BSE Healthcare index (up 1.77%), the BSE Oil & Gas index (up 1.32%), outperformed the Sensex.

The BSE Consumer Durables index (down 1.13%), the BSE Auto index (down 1%), the BSE Realty index (down 0.2%), the BSE Metal index (down 0.18%), the BSE FMCG index (up 0.37%), the BSE PSU index (up 0.58%), the BSE TECk index (up 0.87%), the BSE Power index (up 1.03%), the BSE IT index (up 1.06%), underperfomed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 2,136 shares rose as compared with 593 that fell. A total of 49 shares remained unchanged.

From the 30 share Sensex pack, 15 stocks fell while rest gained.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 3.13%. 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.

India's biggest state-run oil exploration firm by revenue Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) fell 2.74% on profit taking after the stock rose 8.41% yesterday, 21 May 2009. Oil prices sank Thursday, retreating from six-month highs reached in the previous session, as all three major US stock indexes fell hard and the US dollar gained ground. Light sweet crude for July delivery fell 99 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $61.05 a barrel Thursday. The fall in crude oil prices would result in lower realizations from crude sales for oil exploration firms.

PSU OMCs fell after Thursday's sharp surge triggered by reports the petroleum ministry has prepared a draft Cabinet note on freeing petrol and diesel prices from government control, after which they will be linked to international movements. HPCL and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) fell by between 0.85% to 1.56%. But BPCL rose 0.67%.

With international crude oil prices hovering between $50 a barrel and $60 a barrel, the oil ministry reportedly feels it is the right time to free petrol and diesel prices from government control. Petrol prices may be raised by about Rs 2 per litre and diesel rates cut by Rs 0.30 a litre if the proposal to free auto fuel prices from state control is approved by the incoming Cabinet.

According to the proposal, state-run IOC, BPCL and HPCL will be given freedom to fix rates of petrol and diesel till the time crude oil stays below $75 a barrel. If it breaches this mark, the government will step in to protect the interests of consumers.

Capital goods stocks rose triggered by expectations of increased infrastructure spending by the Congress-led UPA government to boost growth. India's biggest engineering & construction firm by revenue L&T up 4.73% to Rs 1,301.40 and India's biggest power equipment maker by revenue Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) was up 0.9% to Rs 1981.95. Other capital goods stocks, ABB, Praj Industries and Punj Lloyd rose by between 2.11% to 12.11%.

India's largest thermal power generator by sales NTPC rose 1.93% after net profit rose 57.77% to Rs 2113.35 crore on 8.65% rise in total income to Rs 12,481.51 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q4 March 2008. The company announced the results during the market hours today

Bank stocks rose in choppy trade on hopes the UPA government will pursue financial sector reforms. India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 4.54% to Rs 702.80. The stock hit a high of Rs 713 and a low of Rs 655. Its American depository receipt (ADR) fell 1.3% on Thursday 21 May 2009.

India's biggest bank in terms of branch network State Bank of India (SBI) rose 1.01% to Rs 1,731.70. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,740.90 and a low of Rs 1,678.10. As per reports, the Congress-led UPA government may go ahead on a plan to merge six associate banks with State Bank of India to create a Indian banking behemoth. The government may also re-introduce the State Bank of India (Amendment) Bill that will enable Centre to reduce its stake in SBI to 51% from current 59.41%.

But, India's second largest private sector bank by operating income HDFC Bank rose 0.13% to Rs 1,369.05. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,391.45 and a low of Rs 1,345.

India's biggest dedicated housing finance firm by operating income HDFC rose 1.09%. As per recent reports, HDFC is likely to cut deposit rates and follow it with a cut in lending rates.

With a decisive mandate, there are expectations that the UPA government may pursue financial sector reforms. There is likely to be some movement on passage of the Bill to amend the Insurance Act, 1938. Apart from raising the foreign investment ceiling to 49%, from 26% at present, the Bill had proposed to do away with the stipulation on Indian promoters having to mandatorily sell a part of their holdings after 10 years of operation.

There are two other Bills act for providing statutory backing to the pensions regulator and to amend the Banking Regulation Act which have been pending in Parliament for over five years, mainly due to the opposition from the Left parties. But now the Left is no longer an ally of the re-elected UPA, the Bills may finally be enacted.

The Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority Bill will allow the regulator to issue regulations, instead of the present system where it has to enter into agreements with service providers such as the fund managers. In addition, it will also help PFRDA regulate the pension products offered by life insurance companies. The new government may also announce tax benefits on investment in the New Pension Scheme, which will help make it attractive for investors, reports suggest

The amendments to the Banking Regulation Act will allow foreign investors to exercise voting rights in line with their shareholding. While the Reserve Bank of India has concerns on greater play for foreign banks, it will have no reservations in getting more powers for regulation of banks and supercession of borads, which are provided for in the Bill.

The government may also re-introduce the Micro-finance Development and Regulation Bill

Outsourcing focussed IT stocks fell for the second straight day after the Federal Reserve disclosed in its minutes from the last rate-setting meeting that it lowered its forecast for growth of the US economy this year given the weakness in the first quarter. US is the biggest market for Indian IT firms. A firm rupee also weighed on IT stocks.

India's largest software services exporter by sales TCS fell 2.27%. TCS last week announced 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 fell 1.84% as its ADR fell 1.9% overnight.

But India's second largest software services exporter by sales Infosys rose 1.11% on reports the company is eyeing an acquisition of about $200-$300 million in the healthcare or lifestyle segment.

The Indian rupee rose today supported by the US unit's weakness overseas and on hopes for a jump in foreign investment after the ruling coalition won national elections. The partially convertible rupee was at 47.10 after strengthening as far as 46.90, compared with Thursday's close of 47.37/38. A firm rupee affects operating profit of IT firms negatively as they earn most of their revenues from exports.

Some FMCG stocks fell as investors pulled out from the so-called defensive stocks. United Spirits, Britannia Industries, Tata Tea and Dabur India, Nestle India fell by between 0.36% to 2.07%.

But India's largest cigarette maker by sales ITC rose 0.6% after net profit rose 9.97% to Rs 808.99 crore on 2.88% fall in total income to Rs 3979.66 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q4 March 2008. The company announced the results during the market hours today

Metal stocks fell on fall in copper prices in New York. Metal prices, however, rose on the London Metal Exchange (LME) today, 22 May 2009. Hindalco Industries, Hindustan Zinc, Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries fell by between 0.72% to 4.32%.

Copper prices fell the most in a week yesterday after records showed that Federal Reserve policy makers saw risks last month to a US economic recovery, renewing concern that the global recession will erode metals demand. Copper futures for July delivery fell 5.55 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $2.051 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile.

Cement stocks fell on profit taking after recent surge triggered by hopes UPA government's likely thrust on infrastructure sector would boost cement demand. Grasim Industries, Ultratech Cement, ACC, Ambuja Cements fell by between 0.6% to 4.22%.

Some healthcare stocks rose on hopes newly elected UPA government will give primary importance to healthcare segment and health of citizens. Cipla, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Biocon, Wockhardt, rose by between 1.59% to 8.76%.

Some realty stocks rose triggered by expectations that stability at the Centre will attract more money from foreign investors into the sector. Indiabulls Real Estate, Sobha Developers, Akruti City, Omaxe rose by between 2% to 5%.

Cals Refineries clocked the highest volume of 6.94 crore shares on BSE. Satyam Computer Services (5.57 crore shares), Kaashyap Technologies (2.38 crore shares), Firstsorce Solutions (2 crore shares) and Unitech (1.7 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Reliance Capital clocked the highest turnover of Rs 310.92 croe on BSE. Satyam Computer Services (Rs 299.11 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 282.65 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 258.98 crore) and Housing Development & Infrastructure (Rs 215.41 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

Pre Session Commentary - May 22 2009

Today domestic markets are likely to open negative on the back of news about weak global economic outlook. S&P have downgraded the UK economy and hence the UK bonds due to concerns about the net deficit to climb as much as 100% of the GDP. The US jobless data has once again jolted the US markets and hence repercussions are indispensable across the Asian markets. Despite weak global cues the buying sentiments in the domestic arena may be supported by the fact that the UPA government is swearing today with its new cabinet.

On Thursday, the domestic markets closed in red. After a subdued opening the domestic markets could not gather strength to fling the hurdle. The negative cues strangled the domestic sentiments till the end. The news about weak economic outlook of the US by FOMC started the carnage which afflicted across the Asian and European markets. CG, Bankex, and Auto were the laggards for the day as they lost 5.41%, 2.91% and 2.07% respectively. The WPI inflation data for the week ended 9th May 2009 surged at 0.61% as against 0.48% recorded in the previous week. Small cap stocks snatched the charm of the day against Mid Cap and other benchmark indices. We expect the markets to be trading volatile.

The BSE Sensex closed low by 324.12 points at 13,736.54 and NSE Nifty ended with loss of 59.40 points at 4,210.90. BSE Mid Caps ended flat at 4,673.87, whereas Small Caps closed with phenomenal gains of 134.35 points at 5,342.53 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 14,089.51 and intraday low of 13,704.43.

On Thursday, the US stock markets closed in red. Worse-than-expected jobless claims reiterated the fact that economic conditions of US is still worsening. Initial claims for the week ended May 16 inclined by 631,000 to pile up the continuing claims climbed to a new record of 6.66 million. The Fed had yesterday pointed out the economic worry of US and sooner than later Standard & Poor has down graded the UK economy by lowering the rating of the government’s bonds on deep concerns of the net deficit which is expected to reach 100% of the GDP. The macro economic outlook of the world looks murky and therefore sentiments across the global market are weak. The US light crude oil futures for July closed lower by 1.6% at $61.02 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) declined by 129.91 points to close at 8,292.13. The NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) index fell by 32.59 points to close at 1,695.25 and the S&P 500 (SPX) closed low by 15.14 points at 888.33.

Today major stock markets in Asia are trading negative. Hang Seng is trading low by 84.54 points at 17,114.95 followed by Shanghai Composite which is low by 3.89 points at 2,606.73. Japan''s Nikkei is low by 7.11 points at 9,257.04, Strait Times is up by 0.77 points at 2,211.74. Seoul Composite is up by 3.65 points at 1,425.30 respectively.

Indian ADRs ended down. In technology sector, Infosys ended lower by 2.11% along with Wipro by 1.90%. Further, Satyam lost 1.54% while Patni Computers gained 0.11%. In banking sector ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank dropped by 1.30% and 0.50% respectively. In telecommunication sector Tata Communication decreased by 4.74% whereas MTNL advanced by 8.17%. Sterlite Industries decreased by 5.11%.

The FIIs on Thursday stood as net sellers in equity and net buyers in debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs 6,399.50 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs 293.50 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs 6,633.70 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. 192.20 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs (234.10) Crore and Rs 101.30 Crore respectively.

On Thursday, the partially convertible rupee ended at 47.37/38 per dollar, 0.21 percent stronger than previous close at 47.47/48. Rupee gained strength for the fifth consecutive day on the back of huge dollar inflow through FII investment in local stock markets and also the dollar selling by exporters. However on the other hand the importers started buying dollars which prevented further gain in rupee against the green back.

On BSE, total number of shares traded were 81.06 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs 7,996.10 Crore. On NSE, total number of shares traded was 152.15 Crore and total turnover was Rs 24,334.89 Crore.

Top traded volumes on NSE Nifty – Unitech with 67370184 shares, Suzlon Energy with 43560221 shares, Reliance Comm with 23050372 shares, DLF with 20549662 followed by Tata Steel with 18097895 shares.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 811479 with a total turnover of Rs 16,783.11 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 528611 with a total turnover of Rs 27,271.48 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 1203927 with a total turnover of Rs 25,803.99 Crore and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 36004 and notional turnover was Rs 1,843.51 Crore.

Today, Nifty would have a support at 4,145 and resistance at 4,285 and BSE Sensex has support at 13,565 and resistance at 13,845.

Market may open flat

After witnessing a slump of over 500 points in last couple trades, the market is likely to remain shaky on weak global markets. Although FIIs and domestic mutual funds have been providing cushion by remaining net buyers, the sentiment is likely to remain bullish. Among the key domestic indices, the Nifty may get support at 4160 and may test higher levels at 4250. The Sensex has a likely support at 13600 and on the upside could test 13900 levels.

US Indices tumbled on Thursday, as optimism about a global economic recovery was tempered by mixed data and a potential downgrade of the United Kingdom's credit rating. While the Dow Jones tumbling by 130 points to close at 8292. The Nasdaq declined 33 points on weak tech stocks and closed at 1695.

Except few, all the Indian ADRs ended with sharp declines. VSNL plummeted 4.74% and Infosys crashed 2.11% while, Satyam, Wipro, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Rediff dropped 1-2% each. However, Tata Motors and MTNl managed to gained 7-8% each.

Crude oil prices fell further, with the Nymex light crude oil for July series slipped by 99 cents to close at $61.05 a barrel. In the commodity segment, the Comex gold for June delivery advanced $13.80 to settle at $951.20 an ounce.

Market may extend losses

Key benchmark indices may extend last two day's of losses as investors may continue to book profits after the recent solid surge. While positive Asia may support the market. Investors will closely watch the global developments for further cues. In political front, ruling party Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's altercation over berth sharing may act as a backburner. Volatility may remain high ahead of the expiry of May futures and options (F&O) contract next Thursday.

Most of the Asian stocks were trading higher today 22 May 2009. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan rose by between 0.03% to 0.57%. But, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.08% as speculation the U.S. will lose its top credit rating lifted the value of Japan's currency against the dollar.

The US markets finished off their lows of the session, but still logged a triple-digit loss yesterday 21 May 2009 as the Fed's lowered outlook and disappointing economic data shook investor confidence. The Dow fell 129.91 points, or 1.5%, to 8,292.13. The S&P 500 index fell 15.14 points, or 1.7%, to 888.33, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 32.59 points, or 1.9%, to 1,695.25.

Standard & Poor's downgrade on the UK economy to "negative" from "stable” weighed on investor sentiment. This raised concerns about both UK and US credit rating. Initial jobless claims dropped by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 631,000 last week, slightly higher than expected.

Back home, the key benchmark indices fell for the second straight day on Thursday 21 May 2009 as investors booked profit taking cues from weak global markets and after recent sharp surge in prices. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 324.12 points or 2.31% to 13,736.54 on that day. From a recent high of 14,302.03 on Tuesday, 19 May 2009, the Sensex has lost 566.49 points or 3.95%. Yet, the Sensex is up 4099.31 points or 42.48% in calendar year 2009. From a 3-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009, the Sensex is up 5,576.14 points or 68.33%.

Foreign institutional investors turned sellers after recent agressiive buying in Indian stocks. As per the provisional figures on NSE foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 2.14 crore yesterday after selling Rs 234.10 crore on Wednesday. Domestic funds sold shares worth Rs 371.48 crore yesterday. FII inflow in May 2009 totaled Rs 15134.70 crore (till 20 May 2009) while their inflow in calendar year 2009 totaled Rs 15491.20 crore.

In political news, although the swearing-in ceremony of the new Manmohan Singh-led government is scheduled for today evening, the berth-sharing talks between the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) broke down dramatically on Thursday 21 May 2009 evening.

A major irritant is the Congress refusal to part with infrastructure ministries and instead offering the DMK portfolios of Labour, Food Processing and Textiles. The southern ally declared it would extend “outside support” to the new government, preferring to sit out of the Ministry to accepting the same number of berths it had last time. The announcement came after three rounds of talks between leaders of the two parties and a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr. Karunanidhi.

Announcing the breakdown of talks, DMK leader T.R. Baalu said the Congress formula was unacceptable to his party. The Congress remained outwardly unfazed by the DMK decision. The DMK wanted five Cabinet berths to accommodate the two outgoing Union Ministers, A. Raja and Mr. Baalu, besides Mr. Karunanidhi's two children, M.K. Azhagiri and Kanimozhi, and his grand-nephew Dayanidhi Maran. Also, the DMK wanted four Ministers of State. Crowding the Ministry with members of one family was unacceptable to the Congress and this is an issue that it has taken up with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also.

Meanwhile, a comfortable victory for the Congress-led coalition government in election has raised expectations of a strong push for economic reforms by the government. As per media reports key government departments have drawn up a slew of proposals to populate an ambitious reform agenda for the first 100 days of Dr Singh's second term as the PM, aimed at giving economic growth a leg-up.

PM has already prepared the broad contours of an economic revival plan to be taken up soon after the new government is formed, reports suggest While recommendations to revive growth and ease the credit squeeze are likely to find a place in the plan, tax proposals are expected to be taken up as budget recommendations. The telecom ministry has prioritised the much delayed auction of 3G airwaves and WiMAX spectrum. It has also prioritised introduction of a new spectrum policy.

The petroleum ministry is aiming for increased domestic output and a targetted-delivery system for the poor The new government is also likely to pursue disinvestment of state-run undertakings, reports suggest. The disinvestment department under the finance ministry is reportedly working on expanding the list of companies in which the government could reduce its stake. Among these are Power Grid Corporation, Cochin Shipyard, and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam.

Financial sector reforms are likely to get a push in the coming days, which were relegated to the back seat due to persistent opposition from the Left parties.

The Congress party-led coalition has the support of 322 lawmakers, Prime Minister-elect Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday, 20 May 2009, giving it a clear majority in a new government. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Wednesday appointed Manmohan Singh Prime Minister and invited him to name his Council of Ministers.

The invitation to form the government came after Dr. Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi staked claim with letters of support from 274 members of the 15th Lok Sabha. In addition, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal sent letters of support for a Manmohan Singh-led government directly to the President, taking the support base to 322. Dr Singh was renominated as Congress Parliamentary Party leader on Tuesday (19 May 2009).

The Congress-led UPA defied predictions of a tight election and was only about 11 seats short of an majority from the 543 seats at stake in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election. Congress' alliance took 261 seats, sweeping aside its nearest rival, the bloc led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won only 159 combined. Congress, which alone won 205 seats, needs a handful of partners to reach the 272 seats needed to take power, and is expected to seek the support of more smaller parties or independents.

Meanwhile, the stock market will keep a close eye on the allocation of portfolios in the new government. It remains to be seen who get the key ministries viz. power, transport and education sectors. Analysts say growth in these three sectors are key for India to achieve strong economic growth. If those seen as strong performers are given charge of these three ministries, the market may extend gains.

Grasim Industries, Aban Offshore, Punj Lloyd, Godrej Consumer

Grasim Industries, Aban Offshore, Punj Lloyd, Godrej Consumer

Sobha Developers

Sobha Developers

Thermax

Thermax

SGX Nifty Live Update - May 22 2009

4,217.0 -8.0

Rolta India

We recommend a buy in the Rolta India from a short-term trading horizon. It is evident from the charts of Rolta that it has been on a medium-term uptrend since its 52-week low of Rs 40.7 recorded on March 12. While trending up, the stock conclusively penetrated the intermediate-term down trendline drawn from September 2008 high of Rs 360. On April 13, the stock jumped 43 per cent with heavy volume, penetrating it 50-day moving average. Subsequently, the stock managed to stay above this average and is currently trading well above this line. A positive divergence in the weekly relative strength index backs the stock’s trend reversal. The daily RSI is hovering in the bullish zone. The stock surged 11 per cent on May 21, reinforcing the bullish momentum. Besides, we observe that there is an increase in volume over the past three trading session. Considering that the medium-term up trendline is intact, we are bullish on the stock from a short-term perspective. We expect the stock to move up until it hits our price target of Rs 122 in the forthcoming trading session. Traders with short-term trading perspective can buy the stock while maintaining a stop-loss at Rs 104.

via BL

Bullion metals shine more

Prices rise as dollar index drops to lowest level of the year

Precious metals ended higher on Thursday, 21 May, 2009 at Comex. Weak set of economic reports and the depressed dollar increased the appeal of precious metals as a safe haven for alternative investment thereby taking them higher. A report by World gold council yesterday regarding increased demand for gold in first quarter also spurred 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 Thursday, Comex Gold for June delivery gained $13.8 (1.5%) to close at $951.2 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was highest price of gold since 23 March, 2009. Last week, gold ended higher by 1.8%. Year to date, gold prices are higher by 9.5%.

For the month of April, gold had 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 (9%) since then.

On Thursday, Comex silver futures for July delivery gained 16.5 cents (1.2%) at $14.445 an ounce. Year to date, silver has climbed 27.3% this year. For 2008, silver had lost 24%.

In the currency market on Thursday, the U.S. dollar index, fell 0.8%. With today's drop, the dollar index fell to lowest level of the year.

There came another round of worse-than-expected jobless claims data today. Initial claims for the week ending 16 May totaled 631,000, while continuing claims climbed to 6.66 million. This, once again put pressure on the labor market scenario.

A separate report showed that there was first time increase in leading economic indicators in ten months but the same had little effect on trading. According to the data, leading indicators for April increased 1%, which topped the 0.8% increase that was expected.

In a report issued yesterday, the World Gold Council reported that gold investment demand in the first quarter more than tripled from a year ago to a record level as investors piled into gold exchange-traded funds to hedge against the global economic downturn.

The report detailed that investment demand totaled 595.9 metric tons in the first three months of the year, up from 171.3 metric tons a year ago. Total gold demand, however, marked a more modest increase, as jewelry and industrial consumption declined. Overall, gold consumption hit 1,015.5 metric tons in the first quarter, up 38% from a year ago.

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 160 (1.1%) at Rs 14,493 per 10 grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 14,513 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 14,352 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for July delivery closed Rs 200 (0.89%) higher at Rs 22,467/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 22,349/kg and rose to a high of Rs 22,548/Kg during the day's trading.

Crude recovers from intra day lows

Crude prices drop by a dollar while natural gas price plunges 9%

Crude oil prices ended lower on Thursday, 21May, 2009 after weak set of economic reports once again raised demand questions for crude in the coming months. Prices fell despite energy department's weekly inventory report that came out yesterday showed more than expected drop in crude inventories for last week. But prices recovered from intra day lows.

On Thursday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for June delivery closed at $61.05/barrel (lower by $0.99 or 1.6%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier during the day, it fell to a low of $59.92. Last week, crude ended lower by 3.9%.

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 58% since then. Year to date, in 2009, crude prices are higher by 27.6%. On a yearly basis, crude prices are lower by 48%.

In the currency market on Thursday, the U.S. dollar index, fell 0.8%. With today's drop, the dollar index fell to lowest level of the year.

There came another round of worse-than-expected jobless claims data today. Initial claims for the week ending 16 May totaled 631,000, while continuing claims climbed to 6.66 million. This, once again put pressure on the labor market scenario.

A separate report showed that there was first time increase in leading economic indicators in ten months but the same had little effect on trading. According to the data, leading indicators for April increased 1%, which topped the 0.8% increase that was expected.

EIA reported yesterday that crude inventories decreased by 2.1 million barrels in the week ended 15 May, 2009. Market was expecting a decline of 1.5 million barrels. Despite the decline, crude inventories, at 368.5 million barrels, were still above the upper boundary of the average range for this time of year. Refineries, meanwhile, operated at 81.8% of their operable capacity last week, slightly higher than a week ago.

Lower refinery production pushed gasoline inventories down by 4.3 million barrels to 204 million barrels, falling below the lower limit of the average range. The EIA also reported distillate stockpiles rose by 600,000 barrels. Motor gasoline demand had averaged about 9.1 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, down by 1.2% from the same period last year. Demand for distillate fuels, which include heating oil and diesel, fell 12%, and jet fuel consumption dropped 9%.

Last week, the International Energy Agency reported that it now expects demand to fall 2.6 million barrels a day from 2008 levels. This is 200,000 barrels more than the IEA had projected a month ago. This perhaps kept further rise in crude prices from check.

Also at the Nymex on Thursday, June-reformulated gasoline fell slightly to $1.7997 a gallon, and June heating oil lost 1.17 cent, or 0.8%, to $1.5294 a gallon.

Natural gas for June delivery fell 36.7 cents, or 9.2%, to $3.603 per million British thermal units. EIA reported today that inventories increased by 103 billion cubic feet in the week ended 15 May, 2009. At 2,116 billion cubic feet, stocks were 514 billion cubic feet higher than last year at this time and 387 billion cubic feet above the five-year average.

Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex.

At the MCX, crude oil for June delivery closed at Rs 2,897/barrel, lower by Rs 35 (1.2%) against previous day's close. Natural gas for June delivery closed at Rs 179.7/mmbtu, lower by Rs 13.8/mmbtu (7%).

Daily News Roundup - May 22 2009

Infosys plans to raise US headcount by adding 1,000 employees in next 12-18 months. (BS)

Tata Motors to raise US$1bn through ECBs. (BS)

Bajaj Auto and Renault’s plans to launch a small car might be delayed owing to branding issues. (ET)

Bajaj Auto to launch low cost car by 2011. (BS)

A division bench of Madras High Court has ruled that the TVS Motors can manufacture and market 125cc Flame in its original form. (ET)

Cairn India to sell Rajasthan crude at a discount of about US$16/bbl to the grade of ONGC’s Mumbai High crude oil. (BS)

Maruti Suzuki’s share in Suzuki Motor Corp’s revenues has risen to 46% in FY09 from 30% in FY08, which will enable Maruti to get more freedom to take key decisions. (ET)

Tata Steel gets nod for Ankua iron ore mine. (FE)

Tata Power has been asked to provide fixed asset as collateral to hedge a Rs80bn foreign exchange loan. (BS)

HCL Tech signs a global outsourcing deal with MTV Networks to develop and support its online media platforms. (ET)

ICICI Bank gets more time to deposit guarantee amount for Maytas’ highway project in Tamil Nadu. (ET)

Bharti Airtel to launch sub-Rs8,000 online computers powered by Microsoft and Nivio. (BS)

Reliance Power to invest Rs120bn in Arunachal Pradesh for executing 2,520MW hydro power projects in the next five years. (FE)

Reliance Capital is planning to list Reliance Life Insurance by divesting 26% in the company. (ET)

DLF is close to sell off its subsidiary DLF Wind Power to French Company Eole-Res for Rs10bn. (FE)

Dr Reddy’s is moving all its drug R&D assets to its wholly-owned subsidiary Aurigene, effective July 1. (BS)

Ranbaxy acquires entire range of skin care and lifestyle products of Ochoa Labs. (BS)

Patel Engineering has bagged an order worth Rs7bn. (BS)

Bata India plans to open 240 stores in three years. (ET)

The Enforcement Directorate has sent a notice to Apollo Hospitals on charges of possible FEMA violations. (ET)

Areva T&D bags order to build a 400KV sub-station at Kharagpur. (BS)

Parsvnath to invest Rs1.3bn in developing an IT park in Gurgaon. (BS)

MRF to shift tyre production temporarily from its facility in Tamil Nadu to its Medak factory in Andhra Pradesh. (BS)

Coal India may raise prices to offset wage pressure. (BS)

MMTC to import 12.5mn tons of coal for NTPC. (BS)

Opto Circuits gets approval to sell its products in Brazil. (BL)

Pfizer has acquired rights to 60 products of Aurobindo Pharma. (BL)

Inflation for the week ended May 9 rose to 0.61%. (ET)

FII inflows cross US$3bn mark in CY09. (ET)

Direct tax kitty misses target by Rs60bn in FY09. (BS)

SEZ developers to get service tax relief. (ET)

Finance ministry to probe misuse of drafts for money laundering. (ET)

Ministry of shipping, road transport and national highways is exploring to increase fund allocation to PWD by three-folds. (BS)

Apparels exports up by 4% in FY09. (ET)

Low cost airlines to hike fares by June 2009. (ET)

Portfolio management at the Center!

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

After Monday’s magical gains the bulls have realised that even with a decisive win it would be tough for the UPA to pull off a swift economic turnaround. The tug of war with key allies over allocation of portfolios is proof enough. Although there is no real threat to the Government, the impasse needs to get over before the new Cabinet is sworn in later this evening.

The global picture doesn’t look all that pretty. Stocks across the globe slumped on Thursday after the S&P cut UK’s rating outlook to negative from stable. Sentiment was nervous already after the Fed said a full-fledge US recovery will take 5-6 years.

However, Asian markets are steady to flat. We expect a cautious to slightly positive opening and sideways trend. Given that Monday Mania was overdone there is scope for some more softening. Make sure your portfolio does not have stocks, which could be demanding on your money!

Key Results Today: CESC, Cinemax, Edelweiss, FDC, Federal Bank, Gujarat Flurochemicals, ITC, NTPC, Redington and Take Solutions.

FIIs were net sellers in the cash segment on Thursday at Rs21.4mn while the local institutions too pulled out Rs3.71bn. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net sellers at Rs11.29bn. On Wednesday, FIIs were net sellers at Rs2.34bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were net buyers at Rs2.4bn on the same day.

US stocks slid on Thursday after the S&P cut UK's outlook to negative, setting off speculation that a potential downgrade of the British credit rating could be on the cards. Mixed batch of economic reports also kept investors at bay a day after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April meeting predicted a deeper recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 130 points, or 1.5%, marking the third straight loss for the blue-chip measure. The S&P 500 index dropped 15 points to close 1.7% lower and the Nasdaq Composite index lost 1.9%.

The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, rose to 32.7 after falling below 30 for the first time since September earlier this week.

The tone on Wall Street turned bleak late on Wednesday after the Fed trimmed its 2009 economic growth targets and raised its unemployment forecast. The gloom was exacerbated after ratings agency S&P lowered its outlook for the UK.

Selloff gained momentum post the announcement of weekly jobless data and a worse-than-expected regional manufacturing report. US stocks have gained some 30% over the last few months amid signs the pace of the recession has slowed.

S&P affirmed the United Kingdom's top-tier credit rating but lowered its outlook for the country to "negative" from "stable." S&P said its revision was based on the possibility that the UK's debt burden could reach 100% of its GDP, despite the British government's "further fiscal tightening."

The news raised concerns that other major economies that have borrowed heavily to fund economic stimulus efforts, including the US, could face similar downgrades.

The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims declined by 12,000 in the week ending May 16. The number of people filing for first-time jobless benefits totaled 631,000 last week, slightly more than expected. But those filing claims on an ongoing basis rose to 6.6 million, an all-time high.

Separately, the Conference Board's reading of leading economic indicators, which predicts economic conditions six to nine months in the future, rose 1% in April - slightly better than the 0.8% analysts expected.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its index of manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region improved to negative 22.6 in May from negative 24.4 in April. Economists had expected the index to improve to negative 18.

Auto finance firm GMAC is poised to receive a second bailout from the Treasury, according to the Detroit News. The newspaper said that the company is due to receive $7.5 billion more in aid.

In other auto news, the United Auto Workers union reached a deal with the Treasury Department and General Motors (GM) on changing its labor contract with the troubled automaker. The accord removes a major hurdle in GM's bid to avoid bankruptcy. GM shares rose more than 30%.

In one of the first Nasdaq IPOs of the year, OpenTable, which operates a restaurant reservation system, raised $60 million. The company priced its shares at $20 each, which was higher than expected, and rose 59% to $31.89.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.36% from 3.19% on Wednesday. The US government announced more than $100 billion worth of new issuance on Wednesday, raising concerns that supply will weigh on bond prices.

The dollar declined to the lowest level against the euro since January and dropped versus the yen as an increase in Treasury yields and gold prices indicated inflation may accelerate while the US budget deficit widens.

Sterling pound erased its decline versus the dollar on speculation a credit downgrade from Standard & Poor’s wasn’t imminent and two other rating companies affirmed the UK’s "stable" outlook.

Crude oil for July delivery declined 99 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $61.05 a barrel at 2:42 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first drop this week. Prices are up 37 percent this year.

Gold rose to the highest price since March as the slump in global equity markets increased the appeal of precious metals as an alternative investment. Silver touched the highest since February. COMEX gold for June delivery rose $13.80 to settle at $951.20 an ounce.

No major economic reports or corporate results are due on Friday. US trading is expected to be quiet Friday with many market participants absent ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. The bond market will close early.

European shares snapped a five-session advance after the S&P announcement. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index dropped 2% to 207.57. Stock markets in several countries, including Switzerland and Sweden, were closed for the Ascension holiday.

UK's FTSE 100 index fell 2.8% to 4,345.47 and sterling declined 0.2% to $1.5714 against the dollar. Earlier it fell as low as $1.5515. Yields on 10-year U.K. government bonds rose 6 basis points to 3.64%.

Germany's DAX 30 index dropped 2.7% to 4,900.67 and the French CAC-40 index lost 2.6% to 3,217.41.

It was the second straight trading session of losses for the Sensex. Along with the index heavyweights even the mid-cap and the small-cap stocks witnessed some profit booking towards the end. Finally, the Sensex slipped 324 points or 2.3% to close at 13,736 after touching a high of 14,089 and a low of 13,704. The index had opened at 14,043 against the previous close of 14,060.

The NSE Nifty declined 59 points or 1.4% to shut shop at 4,211. Advance declined ended at 3:1 as compared to 10:1 in the morning trades

Shares of KS Oil allied by over 4% to Rs60 after reports stated that the company may get Rs4.5bn funding from PE investors, GDR and promoter funding for development, expansion and acquisition of agricultural assets in South East Asia. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs64 and a low of Rs57.5 and recorded volumes of over 3.4mn shares on NSE.

Shares of Pfizer gained by 1% to Rs730 as the company has reportedly inked entered into an agreement with Claris Lifesciences to market off patent injectibles. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs748 and a low of Rs721 and recorded volumes of over 7,000 shares on BSE.

Shares of Bajaj Auto surged by over 5.5% to Rs934 after the company posted a net profit of Rs1302.1mn up 8% yoy for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 as compared to Rs1207.9mn for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Total Income decreased from Rs20948.9mn for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 to Rs19063.2mn for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.

Shares of Aurobindo Pharma advanced by 6% to Rs344 after the company announced that it has expanded its partnership with Pfizer Inc, by executing licensing and supply agreements for several Solid Dosage and Sterlite products for a number of emerging market countries. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs348 and a low of Rs325 and recorded volumes of over 95,000 shares on BSE.

Shares of Opto Circuits rallied by over 8.5% to Rs157 after the California-based Mediaid Inc., the subsidiary company and its International Marketing arm has received Brazilian FDA agency - Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (ANVISA) - approval for marketing and sale of the Mediaid brand of US FDA-approved Pulse Oximetry (SPO2) products (Patient Monitors & Sensors) in the Country and surrounding geographies.

Markets would continue to remain under pressure as the whole elections is a bit overdone. Though the convincing win for the UPA has been greeted with cheers, the road to recovery will not be a smooth one. It will take some doing for the new regime to engineer the economic turnaround.