Reliance, Hindalco lift indices to record close

On the back of strong global cues and surge in metal and capital goods shares, the Sensex and Nifty set record closing highs on Friday. But small-cap and mid-cap stocks were pressured as traders booked profits at higher levels.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended 181 points or 1.2% higher at 15273. It touched a high of 15330.73 and low of 15216.83 intra day.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed up 59 points or 1.31% at 4504, making a high of 4514 and low of 4446 earlier in the day.

But the market breadth was negative, with 1,534 declines against 1,148 advances on BSE and 636 losers versus 489 gainers on NSE.

Biggest Sensex gainers were Hindalco Industries (up 6%), Tata Motors (3.8%), Tata Steel (3.35%), Reliance Industries (3%) and Satyam Computer (2.8%).

Index losers comprised Tata Consultancy Services (down 2.1%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (2.03%), Hindustan Unilever (2.5%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (1.48%) and Reliance Communications (1.41%).

Metal shares were in the limelight on ArcelorMittal entering into an agreement with Nippon Steel Corp for a global strategic alliance and expansion of current joint business ventures in North America. Also, Rio Tinto Group has agreed to buy Alcan for $38.1 billion, trumping a hostile bid by Alcoa to form the world's biggest aluminum maker.

BSE Metal Index gained nearly 5% to 12,032. Hindalco rose 6% to Rs 174.45, Sterlite Industries gained 3.25% to Rs 663, Steel Authority of India surged 9.73% to Rs 158.50 and Tata Steel added 3.83% to Rs 698.

After the recent run-up in the real estate space, investors chose to book profits, pulling the BSE realty index down 1.31% to 7778. DLF shed 1.65% to Rs 600, Parsvnath Developers lost 3.7% to Rs 378 and Sobha Developers fell 2% to Rs 931.

Oil and gas shares were riding on the gains in Reliance Industries, which added nearly 3%. Intra-day, the scrip hit a life-time high of Rs 1,790 versus the previous high of Rs 1,785. ONGC was also up nearly 1% to Rs 900, IOC gained 0.6% to Rs 434 and GAIL India rose 1.22% to Rs 319.

CMC slumped 11% to Rs 1,299 despite the company posting nearly 48% rise in net profit to Rs 22.12 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 compared with Rs 14.95 crore in the same period previous year. Total income decreased to Rs 216.89 crore during the June quarter from Rs 232.35 crore a year ago.

ONGC Update (Buy)

ONGC Update (Buy)

Infosys Q1FY08 Result Update (Reduce)

Infosys Q1FY08 Result Update (Reduce)

Sensex ends up 181pts; metal stocks sizzle

The buying momentum witnessed yesterday, coupled with positive cues from the global markets, saw the Sensex open today with a positive gap of 125 points at 15,217.

The index rallied to a new, all-time intra-day high of 15,331 - up 239 points from the last close. The Sensex finally ended with a significant gain of 181 points at 15,273.

The BSE Metal index gained a whopping 4.5% (526 points) to 12,001.

The market breadth turned negative towards the close as mid-cap and small-cap stocks witnessed profit-booking - out of 2,737 stocks traded, 1,529 declined, 1,154 advanced and 54 were unchanged today.

THE INDEX MOVERS....

Hindalco soared 6% to Rs 174. Tata Motors rallied 3.8% to Rs 767, and Tata Steel surged 3.4% to Rs 695.

Reliance gained nearly 3% to Rs 1,769. Satyam and Mahindra & Mahindra moved up nearly 3% each to Rs 493 and Rs 825, respectively.

BHEL and HDFC Bank advanced 2.5% each to Rs 1,684 and 1,231, respectively.

ACC, Ambuja Cements, ITC and Grasim gained around 2% each at Rs 1,096, Rs 129, Rs 156 and Rs 2,871, respectively.

Reliance Energy, Infosys and Larsen & Toubro were up 1% each at Rs 675, Rs 1,940 and Rs 2,400, respectively.

....AND THE SHAKERS

TCS and Dr.Reddy's slipped 2% each to Rs 1,137 and Rs 668, respectively.

Hindustan Unilever and Ranbaxy shed 1.5% each to Rs 203 and Rs 353, respectively.

Reliance Communications, Cipla and Bajaj Auto were down 1% each to Rs 555, Rs 211 and Rs 2,175, respectively.

METAL STOCKS SIZZLE

SAIL zoomed 10.5% to Rs 160. Hindustan Zinc soared 8% to Rs 798. Jindal Steel, National Aluminium, Sesa Goa and Sterlite Industries gained 3-6% each.

MOST ACTIVE COUNTERS

GMR Infrastructure topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 396.60 crore followed by India Infoline (Rs 187 crore), Reliance (Rs 175 crore), Infosys (Rs 169.30 crore) and DLF (Rs 152.50 crore).

Bellary Steel led the volume chart with trades of around 1.70 crore shares followed by Silverline (1.08 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (97.50 lakh), IFCI (93 lakh) and SAIL (64.20 lakh).

Sensex hits another high as metals shine

The benchmark share index Sensex rose to its eighth record high for this month as metal stocks registered heavy gains. The market opened 125 points above its previous close and zoomed to touch the early high of 15305. The Sensex remained steady on the back of firm metal and capital goods stocks. Strong support also came from Tata Motors, Reliance Industries and few cement stocks. The metal stocks were in the limelight on the reports that ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company, is signing Nippon Steel Corp for a global strategic alliance and Rio Tinto Group agreeing to buy Alcan for $38.1 billion. The Wholesale Price Index rose to 4.27% for the week ended June 20, higher than previous week's increase of 4.13%, but the same had a little or no impact on the market sentiment. The Sensex touched the lifetime high of 15331 by the afternoon. After exhibiting some range-bound moves the Sensex finally closed the session at 15273, up 181 points. The broad based Nifty also hit the record high of 4514 in the afternoon and the index ended the session by adding 58 points at 4504.

Surprisingly the breadth of the market was negative. Of the 2,735 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,534 stocks declined, 1,148 stocks advanced and 53 stocks ended unchanged. Among the sectoral indices, the BSE Metal index flared up by 4.58% followed by the BSE Oil & Gas index (up 1.79%), the BSE PSU index (up 1.49%) and the BSE Auto index (up 1.04%). However, the BSE Realty index, the BSE HC index and the BSE CD index ended in the negative territory.

Except a few most of the index stocks ended at higher levels. Hindalco was the day's star performer and shot up by 5.99% at Rs174. Among the other major gainers Tata Motors surged 3.75% at Rs767, Tata Steel vaulted by 3.35% at Rs695, Reliance Industries spurted 2.89% at Rs1,769, Satyam Computers jumped by 2.82% at Rs493, M&M scaled up by 2.72% at Rs825, BHEL advanced by 2.58% at Rs1,684, HDFC Bank added 2.48% at Rs1,231 and ACC rose 2.18% at Rs1,096. Among the laggards TCS slumped by 2.10% at Rs1,137, Dr Reddy's Lab dropped 2.03% at Rs668, HLL slipped 1.51% at Rs203, Ranbaxy shed 1.48% at Rs353 and Reliance Communication fell by 1.21% at Rs555.

Metal stocks were in limelight today. SAIL vaulted by 10.49% at Rs160, Hindustan Zinc soared 7.99% at Rs798, Sesa Goa zoomed 6.12% at Rs1,909, Shree Precoated advanced 6.02% at Rs407, Hindalco shot up by 5.99% at Rs174 and JSW Steel added 5.17% at Rs723.

Over 1.07 crore Silverline Technologies shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Reliance Natural Resources (97.56 lakh shares), IFCI (92.95 lakh shares), SAIL (64.22 lakh shares) and G V Films (57.61 lakh shares).

Value-wise GMR Infrastructure registered a turnover of Rs396 crore on the BSE followed by India Infoline (Rs186 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs175 crore), Infosys (Rs169 crore) and DLF (Rs152 crore).

Alpa Laboratories

Indore-based Alpa Laboratories (promoted by Purshottam Patel, M S Chawla, and Pravin Shah) manufactures pharmaceutical formulations with a range of products such as ethical drugs, generic drugs, over-the-counter drugs (OTC) and veterinary products in various dosage forms and markets them under the trademark, Alpa. It also undertakes contract manufacturing of formulations for a number of other pharmaceutical companies such as Cipla, Zydus Cadila, Lupin, Glenmark, Genom Biotech, and Jenburkt located both in India and abroad mainly in unregulated and semi-regulated markets in Africa, Latin America and Asia. For its own products, the company has established a marketing network covering both metro and mini-metro cities through a number of distributors and dealers spread across the country.
Alpa Laboratories is currently operating its capacities at nearly 90% utilisation. To cater to rising demand, it has planned a massive expansion program to add 1.5 times its existing overall capacity at a capital cost of Rs 58.21 crore with the commissioning scheduled for April 2008. The new plant is planned to be US FDA-compliant considering export prospects. The company is approaching the capital markets to mop up around Rs 65 crore to finance this expansion besides augmenting working capital and other contingencies.
Holding approvals to manufacture 1,366 formulations based on around 50 active pharma ingredients (APIs), Alpa Laboratories routinely manufactures 300 to 350 formulations based on market demand and limited formulation lines. The existing flexible manufacturing infrastructure helps it to change product-mix in response to changes in market demand. The company has been continually World Health Organisation(WHO) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-certified since 2001. In the overseas semi-regulated markets, which contributed around 11% of sales in the year ending March 2007 (FY 2007), Alpa Laboratories holds registrations for around 40 formulations. Nearly 90 more are likely to get registered over the next 12 months.
After converting its veterinary segment, generating around 4% of its annual revenue, to ethical marketing in five states in India with an initial range of 27 products, Alpa Laboratories plans to start ethical marketing for human formulations as well, particularly for the high-value products that it manufactures.
Efforts are on to reduce the low-margin contract manufacturing business, contributing around 30% of the revenue. But once the expanded capacities come into play, Alpa Laboratories will try to include MNC pharmaceutical companies in its clientele for contract manufacturing.
Strengths:
Alpa Laboratores plans to venture into segments such as pro- and pre-biotics and pre-filled syringes due to consistent demand. Will also diversify into lifestyle disorder segments including diabetes, cardio-vascular and gynecology. Entry into such higher-end segments is likely to improve operating profit margin (OPM)..
Export is a lucrative market giving better margin compared with the domestic business. On completion of the expansion programme, the company will be able to ramp up exports, helped by the rising number of overseas product registrations.
Weaknesses:
Although implementation has started, the expansion project is behind schedule by three months and may get further delayed due to factors such as government approvals or delivery of equipment. So far has not placed orders for any of its capital equipment requirement.
Incurred negative cash flows in three out of the last five years including year ended March 2007.
The promoter group company, Alpa Labs (India), owns the trademark, Alpa, which the company has licensed. Alpa Labs (India) has common objects as per its memorandum of association, which could give rise to conflicts in future.
Valuation:
Alpa Laboratories has set a price band of Rs 62 to Rs 68 per equity share of Rs 10 each face value. At the lower band of Rs 62, P/E works out to 20.7. At the higher band of Rs 68, P/E is 22.7 based on FY 2007 EPS of Rs 3 on post-issue equity of Rs 21.56 crore. There are several listed pharmaceutical players focusing on the formulations business. The group of such companies is trading at a composite P/E of 13.2 only.

Market to scale fresh peaks

The market is expected to scale fresh peaks on buying momentum in the week beginning 16 July 2007.

Strong global markets, fresh buying at higher levels, healthy inflow from foreign funds and domestic mutual funds, easing fears of interest rate hike, anticipation of robust set of Q1 June 2007 results were some of the factors that led a solid rally on the bourses in the week ended 13 July 2007.

The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 308.60 points in the week ended 13 July 2007 to settle at a record closing high of 15,272.72. It also struck an all-time high of 15,330.73 in intra-day trade.

However, profit booking cannot be ruled out at higher levels. Also any spike in crude oil prices from the current levels may put brakes on rally. As per latest data, Brent crude was hovering at the $77 a barrel mark

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Reliance Energy, DLF Larsen & Toubro, Ambuja Cement and Ultratech Cement Company will announce their Q1 June 2007 in the coming week.

Besides, the following companies from small and mid-cap space, too will announce their Q1 June 2007 results in the coming week: Garware Offshore Services, Sesa Goa, Dish TV India, Blue Dart Express, 3M India, Sonata Software, Tata Coffee, 3M India, Shanthi Gears, Zensar Technologies, Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India), Aventis Pharma, Jubilant Organosys, Alembic, Industrial Development Bank of India, Tanla Solutions, Plethico Pharmaceuticals and Ashok Leyland

Sensex, Nifty settle at new peaks

The market continued its winning streak on strong buying momentum in index pivotals in the week ended 13 July 2007. Strong markets across the globe, fresh buying at higher levels, healthy inflow from foreign funds and domestic mutual funds and anticipation of robust set of Q1 June 2007 results triggered the rally on the bourses. Shares from the metal, capital goods, and real estate sectors advanced, while those from the IT sector slipped.

The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 308.60 points in the week ended Friday, 13 July 2007, to settle at a record closing high of 15,272.72. Tractor and utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra replaced Hero Honda in the BSE Sensex from 9 July 2007.

The S&P Nifty added 119.70 points to record closing high of 4,504.55, in the week.

Trading for the week began on an upbeat note. The Sensex rose 81.61 points, or 0.55%, to 15,045.73, an all-time closing high, tracking firm Asian markets, on Monday 9 July 2007.

The market drifted lower on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, as caution prevailed ahead of Infosys’ earnings. The Sensex lost 36 points.

The market extended the fall on Wednesday 11 July 2007, tracking weak global markets and after IT bellwether Infosys Technologies slashed its EPS and revenue guidance for FY 2008 in rupee terms while announcing Q1 June 2007 results.

The market bounced back on Thursday, 12 July 2007. Firm global markets and strong industrial production data for May 2007 released by the government during trading hours, aided the surge. The Sensex jumped 181.42 to 15,092.04.

On Friday, 13 July 2007, the Sensex surged 180.68 points to 15,272.72, an all-time closing high, tracking strong global markets. It also struck an all-time high of 15,330.73 in intra-day trade

Metal shares advanced on strong buying momentum. Aluminiun and copper major Hindalco Industries galloped 13% to Rs 174.35 on hopes of consolidation in the global aluminium industry after global miner Rio Tinto launched today, 13 July 2007, a $38.1-billion offer to buy Canada's Alcan Inc. in an agreed deal to create the world's No. 1 aluminium producer, feeding expectations of more deals. Rio trumped a hostile bid by Alcoa Inc., now seen vulnerable to becoming a takeover target itself.

Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa, Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc and Sail also edged higher from the metal pack.

Bhel & L&T, bets on India’s infrastructure growth, struck all-time highs in the week. Both these firms are sitting on robust order books that provide a strong visibility of revenue growth.

Reliance Energy soared after the company said it plans to invest Rs 60,000 crore to add 15,000 mega watts (MW) of power over the next five years. This will boost the company’s generation capacity almost 17 times from 941 MW now. The stock was also boosted by market rumors that promoters may hike their stake in REL by 5%, taking it around to 40%

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) gained 3.33% to Rs 1,768.50. The government has set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into all aspects - production to pricing - of gas to be produced from newer areas, particularly in the deep sea. The GoM, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, would decide on production, utilisation, transportation and pricing of gas.

IT stocks saw some unwinding after IT bellwether Infosys Technologies dissapointed with results. Infosys' consolidated net profit as per Indian GAAP was down 5.6% to Rs 1079 crore in Q1 June 2007, from Rs 1,144 crore in Q4 March 2007. Revenue was almost unchanged at Rs 3,773 crore in Q1 June 2007 compared to Rs 3,772 crore in Q4 March 2007.

Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computers, Wipro and TCS all settled the week with losses.

GMR Infrastructure spurted 23.12% to Rs 911.95 after it bagged the tender for developing the Sabiha Gokcen International (SGA) airport in Istanbul, Turkey. SGA is the second airport in Istanbul besides Istanbul Ataturk airport.

BSE Realty index, launched by BSE on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, surged soon after its launch and it struck an all-time high of 8,041.37 on Friday, 13 July 2007. Two heavyweights in this index, Unitech and DLF, contributed to the rally.

Roman Tarmat settled at Rs 319.85 on BSE, a premium of 82.77% over the IPO price of Rs 175, on Monday, 9 July 2007. Roman Tarmat is a Mumbai-based infrastructure company constructing highways, runways and other civil work.

Ankit Metal & Power settled at a premium of 2.63% at Rs 36.95 on BSE on its debut on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, compared to the IPO price of Rs 36.

Meanwhile, industrial production data was released during the week. Industrial production rose an annual 11.1% in May 2007, lower than a downwardly revised annual growth of 12.4% in April 2007. The growth in April 2007 was revised downward from 13.6% reported earlier. The growth was an annual 11.7% in May 2006. Manufacturing production rose an annual 11.9% in May 2007 compared with provisional annual growth of 15.1% in April 2007.

As per reports, the committee on secretaries has given a go-ahead to public sector enterprises (PSEs) to invest a part of their cash reserves, estimated at over Rs 250000 crore, in mutual funds. Reports suggest that PSEs may be allowed to invest up to 10% of surplus cash in equity mutual funds

On Thursday, 12 July 2007, the government cleared 28 fresh SEZ proposals, including the Navi Mumbai project promoted by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, taking the total number of approvals to over 500.

On the same day, the government asked banks to reduce interest rates on loans given to exporters. The government will provide 2% grant to loans given to exporters. The concessions will cost the government Rs 800 crore this fiscal.

Inflation data released on 13 July 2007 showed a slight rise in inflation for the week ended 30 June 2007: 4.27% per annum as against 4.13% in the previous week due to costlier food and manufactured products. However, it was lower when compared to the annual inflation rate of 5.21% during the comparable week of the previous year.

Sensex, Nifty settle at new peaks

The market continued its winning streak on strong buying momentum in index pivotals in the week ended 13 July 2007. Strong markets across the globe, fresh buying at higher levels, healthy inflow from foreign funds and domestic mutual funds and anticipation of robust set of Q1 June 2007 results triggered the rally on the bourses. Shares from the metal, capital goods, and real estate sectors advanced, while those from the IT sector slipped.

The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 308.60 points in the week ended Friday, 13 July 2007, to settle at a record closing high of 15,272.72. Tractor and utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra replaced Hero Honda in the BSE Sensex from 9 July 2007.

The S&P Nifty added 119.70 points to record closing high of 4,504.55, in the week.

Trading for the week began on an upbeat note. The Sensex rose 81.61 points, or 0.55%, to 15,045.73, an all-time closing high, tracking firm Asian markets, on Monday 9 July 2007.

The market drifted lower on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, as caution prevailed ahead of Infosys’ earnings. The Sensex lost 36 points.

The market extended the fall on Wednesday 11 July 2007, tracking weak global markets and after IT bellwether Infosys Technologies slashed its EPS and revenue guidance for FY 2008 in rupee terms while announcing Q1 June 2007 results.

The market bounced back on Thursday, 12 July 2007. Firm global markets and strong industrial production data for May 2007 released by the government during trading hours, aided the surge. The Sensex jumped 181.42 to 15,092.04.

On Friday, 13 July 2007, the Sensex surged 180.68 points to 15,272.72, an all-time closing high, tracking strong global markets. It also struck an all-time high of 15,330.73 in intra-day trade

Metal shares advanced on strong buying momentum. Aluminiun and copper major Hindalco Industries galloped 13% to Rs 174.35 on hopes of consolidation in the global aluminium industry after global miner Rio Tinto launched today, 13 July 2007, a $38.1-billion offer to buy Canada's Alcan Inc. in an agreed deal to create the world's No. 1 aluminium producer, feeding expectations of more deals. Rio trumped a hostile bid by Alcoa Inc., now seen vulnerable to becoming a takeover target itself.

Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa, Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc and Sail also edged higher from the metal pack.

Bhel & L&T, bets on India’s infrastructure growth, struck all-time highs in the week. Both these firms are sitting on robust order books that provide a strong visibility of revenue growth.

Reliance Energy soared after the company said it plans to invest Rs 60,000 crore to add 15,000 mega watts (MW) of power over the next five years. This will boost the company’s generation capacity almost 17 times from 941 MW now. The stock was also boosted by market rumors that promoters may hike their stake in REL by 5%, taking it around to 40%

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) gained 3.33% to Rs 1,768.50. The government has set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into all aspects - production to pricing - of gas to be produced from newer areas, particularly in the deep sea. The GoM, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, would decide on production, utilisation, transportation and pricing of gas.

IT stocks saw some unwinding after IT bellwether Infosys Technologies dissapointed with results. Infosys' consolidated net profit as per Indian GAAP was down 5.6% to Rs 1079 crore in Q1 June 2007, from Rs 1,144 crore in Q4 March 2007. Revenue was almost unchanged at Rs 3,773 crore in Q1 June 2007 compared to Rs 3,772 crore in Q4 March 2007.

Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computers, Wipro and TCS all settled the week with losses.

GMR Infrastructure spurted 23.12% to Rs 911.95 after it bagged the tender for developing the Sabiha Gokcen International (SGA) airport in Istanbul, Turkey. SGA is the second airport in Istanbul besides Istanbul Ataturk airport.

BSE Realty index, launched by BSE on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, surged soon after its launch and it struck an all-time high of 8,041.37 on Friday, 13 July 2007. Two heavyweights in this index, Unitech and DLF, contributed to the rally.

Roman Tarmat settled at Rs 319.85 on BSE, a premium of 82.77% over the IPO price of Rs 175, on Monday, 9 July 2007. Roman Tarmat is a Mumbai-based infrastructure company constructing highways, runways and other civil work.

Ankit Metal & Power settled at a premium of 2.63% at Rs 36.95 on BSE on its debut on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, compared to the IPO price of Rs 36.

Meanwhile, industrial production data was released during the week. Industrial production rose an annual 11.1% in May 2007, lower than a downwardly revised annual growth of 12.4% in April 2007. The growth in April 2007 was revised downward from 13.6% reported earlier. The growth was an annual 11.7% in May 2006. Manufacturing production rose an annual 11.9% in May 2007 compared with provisional annual growth of 15.1% in April 2007.

As per reports, the committee on secretaries has given a go-ahead to public sector enterprises (PSEs) to invest a part of their cash reserves, estimated at over Rs 250000 crore, in mutual funds. Reports suggest that PSEs may be allowed to invest up to 10% of surplus cash in equity mutual funds

On Thursday, 12 July 2007, the government cleared 28 fresh SEZ proposals, including the Navi Mumbai project promoted by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, taking the total number of approvals to over 500.

On the same day, the government asked banks to reduce interest rates on loans given to exporters. The government will provide 2% grant to loans given to exporters. The concessions will cost the government Rs 800 crore this fiscal.

Inflation data released on 13 July 2007 showed a slight rise in inflation for the week ended 30 June 2007: 4.27% per annum as against 4.13% in the previous week due to costlier food and manufactured products. However, it was lower when compared to the annual inflation rate of 5.21% during the comparable week of the previous year.

Sensex, Nifty settle at lifetime highs

The market saw steady buying interest throughout the day’s trading session except for the odd blip in late-afternoon trade, which was marked by some volatility. Shares from the metal pack were in theforefront, while auto and cement stocks also participated in the rally. Pharma and real estate shares were offloaded today, 13 July 2007.

The market opened on a strong note tracking cues from firm global markets. Data showed a slight rise in inflation for the week ended 30 June 2007: 4.27% per annum as against 4.13% in the previous week due to costlier food and manufactured products. However, it was lower when compared to the annual inflation rate of 5.21% during the comparable week of the previous year.

Meanwhile, the government today revised the inflation rate for the week ended 5 May to 5.74% from the provisional estimate of 5.44%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 180.68 points to 15,272.72, an all-time closing high. It opened higher at 15,216.83 (also its low for the day), and rallied to strike an all-time high of 15,330.73 at 13:26 IST as buying intensified.

The S&P CNX Nifty rose 58.40 points to 4,504.55. It had struck an all-time high of 4,513.90 in intra-day trade.

The positive market breadth till mid-afternoon session turned negative on BSE, with 1,566 shares declining as compared to 1,164 that advanced, while 50 remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap Index rose 12.61 points, or 0.19%, to 6,795.30, after striking an all-time high of 6,863.71. The BSE Small-Cap Index gained 0.01% to 8,216.14. It also hit an all-time high of 8,320.47 during intra-day trades.

The total turnover on BSE vaulted in the last hour of trade, amounting to Rs 6,714 crore as compared to Rs 5,325 crore by 14:30 IST

Among the Sensex pack, 21 scrips were trading up, while the rest were down.

Metal stocks dominated the list of gainers. The BSE Metal Index surged 4.58% at 12,000.90, and was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on BSE.

Aluminiun and copper major Hindalco Industries galloped 6.20% to Rs 174.70 on high volumes of 49.99 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. The stock rose on hopes of consolidation in the global aluminium industry after global miner Rio Tinto launched today, 13 July 2007, a $38.1-billion offer to buy Canada's Alcan Inc. in an agreed deal to create the world's No. 1 aluminium producer, feeding expectations of more deals. Rio trumped a hostile bid by Alcoa Inc., now seen vulnerable to becoming a takeover target itself.

Sterlite Industries surged 4.03% to Rs 668. Its ADR jumped 7.8% on NYSE. Other shares from the metal pack, Sesa Goa (up 6.75% to Rs 1919.95), Tata Steel (up 2.92% to Rs 691.90), Hindustan Zinc (up 8.24% to Rs 799.80), and Sail (up 14% to Rs 164.60) edged higher.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) extended early gains and was up 2.74% to Rs 1,766 on 9.83 lakh shares. The government has set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into all aspects - production to pricing - of gas to be produced from newer areas, particularly in the deep sea. The GoM, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, would decide on production, utilisation, transportation and pricing of gas.

State-run oil exploration major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) added 0.99% to Rs 901.80. Led by RIL & ONGC, the BSE Oil and Gas Index advanced 1.8% to 7,819.67.

Cement shares advanced on renewed buying after cement sales increased of 4.6% in June 2007 over June 2006. Production rose 5.6% to 13.66 million tonnes in June 2007 as against 12.94 million tonnes a year earlier, according to provisional figures compiled by the Cement Manufacturers' Association (CMA). Cement shares are seen to be benefiting from the recent hike of prices by Rs 3-to Rs 5 per 50-kilogram bag across India.

ACC (up 2.35% to Rs 1097.50), UltraTech Cement (up 2.94% to Rs 925.70), Ambuja Cements (up 2.20% to Rs 129) and Grasim Industries (up 1.61% to Rs 2865) gained from the cement pack.

Capital goods shares saw buying as investors bet on their strong order book position. State-run engineering major Bhel gained 2.96% higher to Rs 1,690 after striking an all-time high of 1,715. L&T rose 0.95% to Rs 2,400 after hitting an all-time high of Rs 2,450. Larsen & Toubro today bagged two contracts worth Rs 853 crore.

Cigarette major ITC gained 2% to Rs 156 on high volumes of 46.30 lakh shares after a block deal of 26.57 lakh shares was struck on the counter at Rs 155.30 per share on BSE by 10:18 IST.

ICICI Bank gained 0.36% to Rs 970, after state-owned Dubai International Capital said on Thursday, 13 July 2007, it bought 2.87% of India's second-largest lender with more than $79 billion in assets. The agency was now one of the largest investors in the bank.

Auto stocks gained as fears of interest rate hike in near future eased. Tata Motors (up 3.72% to Rs 174.70), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.52% to Rs 823.30) and Maruti Udyog (up 0.16% to Rs 829) gained from the auto pack. The BSE Auto Index rose 1% to 5,058.45.

IT major TCS lost the most in the Sensex pack. It was down 2.51% to Rs 1,132 on 3.80 lakh shares. The company unveils its Q1 June 2007 results on Monday 16 July 2007.

But IT bellwether Infosys was 0.69% to Rs 1,935 on renewed speculation that it is bidding for Capgemini.

The rupee was steady on Friday, 13 July 2007, despite the dollar's weakness against some currencies and surging stocks as traders were worried that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may again intervene aggressively to curb gains. At 10:05 IST, the partially convertible rupee was at 40.50/40.51, unchanged from the previous close.

Pharma shares saw some unwinding today. Cipla (down 0.89% to Rs 211.60), Ranbaxy Laboratories (down 1.44% to Rs 353.45), and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (down 1.93 % to Rs 669) edged lower. The BSE Healthcare index lost 0.51% to 3,848.65.

Real-estate stocks slipped after a recent rally. The BSE Realty index, launched by BSE on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, surged today and struck an all-time high of 8,041.37. It settled 1.31% lower at 7,777.64, and was the top loser among the sectoral indices on BSE. Unitech (down 1.58% to Rs 563.50), Parsvnath Developers (down 3.95% to Rs 377.40), Sobha Developers (down 2.52% to Rs 927) and Mahindra Gesco Developers (down 1.10% to Rs 562) slipped.

Aditya Birla Nuvo surged 10.91% to Rs 1512.05 on reports that the Aditya Birla group is scouting for emerging opportunities in the financial services sector. The group had roped in Prudential Corporation (Asia) chief executive (fund management) to head its financial services portfolio.

Monnet Ispat (up 12.21% to Rs 329), Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (up 8.86% to Rs 928), Madras Aluminium (up 14.15% to Rs 634), Man Industries (up 11.20% to Rs 309) and Kothari Products (up 10% to Rs 870.50) surged from the small and mid-caps pack.

Real-estate major DLF lost 1.78% to Rs 599.70. It is reportedly buying 100 acres of land from the DCM Group in west Delhi. This is the country’s largest land deal. The deal has been struck at Rs 1,750 crore, beating Unitech’s Rs 1,500-crore land deal in Noida a few months ago.

India Infoline jumped 5.94% to Rs 811 on reports that it's planning to venture into consumer finance business. Reportedly, the company is looking for private equity funding or a strategic partner for its new venture, India Infoline Finance Holding (IIFH). The newly formed holding company for the retail financing business will be valued at Rs 800 crore - Rs1,000 crore. India Infoline will infuse around Rs 200 crore into IIFH directly, and around $100 million would be raised either through private equity or stake dilution to the extent of 30%-40%.

Great Offshore advanced 2.83% to Rs 826.95 after it received a Rs 1,000-crore contract from ONGC. The contract is slated to commence before May 2009. The company made the announcement after market hours yesterday, 12 July 2007.

Tata Metaliks declined 4% to Rs 141.95 even though net profit increased 45.32% in Q1 June 2007 to Rs 15.36 crore as against Rs 10.57 crore in Q1 June 2006. Sales jumped 32.82% to Rs 211.28 crore (Rs 159.07 crore). The results were announced during the market hours today 13 July 2007

All the Asian markets rallied on Friday, 13 July 2007, buoyed by a strong overnight rally on the Wall Street, with indices in South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan hitting record highs. China’s Shanghai Composite down 0.04% to 3,914.25, was the only exception

Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 1.27% at 23,099.29), Japan's Nikkei (up 1.42% at 18,238.95), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 1.25% at 9,471.30), Singapore's Straits Times (up 0.83% at 3,654.61) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 2.78% at 1,963.73) edged higher.

All the European indices were trading with gains

Wall Street shares soared on Thursday, 12 July 2007, propelling the Standard & Poor's 500 index and Dow Jones Industrials Average to record highs as investors tossed aside concerns about the health of the economy amid sluggish retails sales.

The Dow Jones surged 283.86 points, or 2.09%, to 13,861.73. Thursday's rally was the biggest one-day percentage gain for the blue chip index since October 2003 and the biggest single-session point gain since October 2002. The Dow also reached a new trading high of 13,869.94.

The S&P 500 rose 28.94 points, or 1.91%, to 1,547.70, above its record close of 1,539.18, set on 4 June 2007. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 49.94 points, or 1.88%, to 2,701.73. Still, the index, bloated by the late 1990s tech boom, is nowhere near its closing record of 5,048.62, set in March 2000.

Sensex rallies on metal and auto stocks

The market witnessed a sharp pull-back after witnessing a slump for the last couple of sessions. The rally was mainly triggered by the buoyancy in heavyweights, metal and auto stocks. Realty stocks on the bourses also rallied sharply today, as the market value of DLF, India's biggest real estate firm, crossed rupees one-trillion mark on hopes that the Reserve Bank of India may not raise interest rates at a credit review later this month. Firm close in other Asian indices also helped the market to rally. The Sensex resumed with a positive gap of 53 points at 14964 and surged on sustained buying in front-line stocks. The index moved within a range thereafter. However, hectic buying towards the close helped the Sensex to touch the day's high of 15112 and end the session at 15092, up 182 points. The Nifty closed by adding 59 points at 4446.

Among the sectoral indices the Metal index led the upsurge with gains of 3.34% at 11475 followed by the BSE Realty index (up 3.33% at 7880), the BSE Auto index (up 1.75% at 5007) and the BSE Bankex (up 1.57% at 8216). The market breadth was extremely positive. Of the 2,713 stocks traded on the BSE 1,793 stocks advanced, 858 stocks declined and 62 stocks ended unchanged.

Out of the 30 Sensex stocks, 25 managed to end in the green while five stocks ended with losses. Hindalco was the leading gainer and soared 7.03% at Rs166. Reliance Energy jumped 6.82% at Rs669, HDFC Bank shot up by 4.42% at Rs1,201, BHEL advanced 4.12% at Rs1,641, Reliance Communication moved up by 4.04% at Rs562, Bajaj Auto added 3.11% at Rs2,195 and M&M gained 2.86% at Rs803. Among the laggards Ambuja Cement dropped 1.17% at Rs126, ONGC shed 0.95% at Rs893, Infosys declined by 0.41% at Rs1,922, Satyam fell 0.25% at Rs480 and L&T slipped marginally at Rs2,377.

Over 2.49 crore Reliance Natural Resources shares changed hands on the BSE followed by Nagarjuna Fertilizers (1 crore shares), IFCI (97.49 lakh shares), IKF Technologies (86.40 lakh shares) and Tata Teleservices (70.30 lakh shares).

GMR Infrastructure registered a turnover of Rs454 crore on the BSE followed by DLF (Rs228 crore), Time Technologies (Rs148 crore), Reliance Energy (Rs133 crore) and Unitech (Rs118 crore).

Sensex, Nifty strike record closing highs

The market started on a strong note and gained strength throughout the trading session as buying continued even at higher levels. Hopes of more inflows to mutual funds contributed to the rally. All the sectoral indices save one logged gains, with shares from auto, banking, real estate, capital goods and metal sector contributing to the rally, supported by firm global markets. IT pivotals, however, underperformed.

The 30-shares BSE Sensex surged 181.42 points or 1.22% at 15,092.04. This is an all-time closing high for the Sensex. It opened higher at 14,963.53, tracking upbeat global markets, and advanced to an intra-day high of 15,112.22 by 15:15 IST, coming close to crossing the all-time high of 15,114.95, which was touched on 10 July 2007. The benchmark index oscillated in a range of 148 points. However, there was absence of volatility.

The S&P CNX Nifty struck an all-time high of 4,451.95. It rose 59.15 points to 4,446.15. It also settled at its lifetime closing high. The Nifty July 2007 futures settled at 4,443.35, a slight discount of 2.8 points compared to spot closing

The market breadth was strong on BSE with a little over 2 gainers for every loser: 1,820 shares advanced as compared to 894 that declined, while 61 remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap Index 1.17% higher at 6,782.69, after striking an all time high of 6,803.35. The BSE Small-Cap Index rose 1.74% to 8,215.56. It also struck an all time high of 8,222

The turnover on BSE vaulted in last one hour of trade. BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 6,080 crore as against Rs 5,494 crore on Wednesday, 11 July 2007. Today's high turnover indicates fresh buying momentum.

The NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 43,187.29 crore as compared to Rs 34,043.56 on Wednesday, 11 July 2007.

Today's rally was despite industrial production growth slowing for the second month, in May 2007, as the highest interest rates in five years crimped demand and currency gains weakened exports. Output at factories, utilities and mines rose 11.1% from a year earlier, following a revised 12.4% increase in April 2007.

Manufacturing output was up 11.9% in May from a year earlier, the slowest pace in four months, while consumer goods output growth halved to 9.8%.

Among the Sensex stocks, 22 gained, while only five declined.

Aluminium and copper major Hindalco Industries galloped 6.94% to Rs 165.70 on high volumes of 55.31 lakh shares. It was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. The stock advanced on hopes of consolidation of global aluminum industry. As per reports, Alcan Inc. is closer to arranging a friendly deal involving Rio Tinto as it fights a hostile $28.8-billion bid from Alcoa Inc.

Other metal shares Tata Steel (up 2.35% to Rs 670.90), JSW Steel (up 3.28% to Rs 690), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.76% to Rs 738.95), Sterlite Industries (up 5.41% to Rs 643), and Sail (up 4.72% to Rs 144.35) edged higher.

The BSE Metal Index surged 3.34% to 11,475.26, and was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on BSE.

Reliance Energy (REL) vaulted 6.50% to Rs 666.50 on its plans to invest Rs 60,000 crore to add 15,000 mega watts (MW) of power over the next five years. This will boost the company's generation capacity almost 17 times from 941 MW now. The stock was also boosted by market rumors that promoters may hike their stake in REL by 5%, taking it around to 40%

Auto shares surged on renewed buying as fears of further interest rate hike receded. The BSE Auto Index rose 1.8% to 5,006.55. Maruti Udyog (up 2.80% to Rs 828.40), Tata Motors (up 1.09% to Rs 740) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 3.38% to Rs 807.25) gained.

Motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto advanced 3.30% to Rs 2,199 after the company said its profitability will increase in the second half of the fiscal year as it introduces new models to woo buyers deterred by higher borrowing costs.

The company reported during market hours today, 12 July 2007, a 21% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 201.15 crore in the first quarter ended June 2007 when compared with Rs 255.77 crore in Q1 June 2006. Consolidated income from operations declined to Rs 2,206.43 crore, from Rs 2,294.28 crore.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.13% to Rs 1721, on 4.19 lakh shares. The Bombay High Court today postponed, to July 18, a hearing on Reliance Industries' (RIL) appeal against an interim order that restricted it from selling gas from its block in the Krishna-Godavari basin to any company other than NTPC and Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL).

Meanwhile, RIL is reportedly preparing to bid for constructing and operating a $7 billion greenfield refinery in Central America.

Banks were in demand on a view that interest rates have peaked for the time being. The BSE Bankex was up 1.7% at 8,215.51. State-run banking major State Bank of India advanced 0.76% to Rs 1,554, while private sector banks ICICI Bank (up 1.39% to Rs 967) and HDFC Bank (up 4.49% to Rs 1,202) also advanced.

Oriental Bank (up 4.76% to Rs 254), Bank of India (up 2.69% to Rs 254.15), Bank of Baroda (up 2.05% to Rs 283.50), and Federal Bank (up 1.16% to Rs 313), also moved upwards.

Capital goods shares rallied on belief that these companies are expected to show robust growth in earning in the next couple of years on strong order book position. The BSE Capital Goods Index was up 1.5% at 12,940.79.

Stare-run engineering major Bhel surged 4.63% to Rs 1,649.50 after striking an all-time high of Rs 1,650.

Astra Microwave (up 14.27% to Rs 179.80), Bharat Bijlee (up 7.32% to Rs 2400), Alstom Power (up 6.87% to Rs 880.50), Gammon India (up 4.29% to Rs 457), and Siemens India (up 3.68% to Rs 1459.90) also advanced from the capital goods space.

Hindustan Unilever advanced 1.41% to Rs 205.25. As per reports, parent Unilever is once again seen as a takeover target. One report cited competitor Colgate-Palmolive Company of the US as a potential buyer. Unilever shares surged on the European bourses amid these rumors on Wednesday 11 July 2007. Parent company Unilever holds 36.01% in Hindustan Unilever. Parent Colgate-Palmolive Company USA holds 40.06% in Colgate-Palmolive (India). Colgate-Palmolive India was down marginally by 0.05% to Rs 381.35.

IT pivotals underperformed in a strong market. The BSE IT Index rose marginally by 0.03% to 4,870.06. Infosys (down 0.66% to Rs 1,917), and Satyam Computers (down 0.59% to Rs 478) and Wipro (down 0.02% to Rs 510.15) declined, while TCS rose 1.06% to Rs 1,159.

IT bellwether Infosys on Wednesday, 11 July 2007, cut its EPS and revenue guidance for FY 2008 in rupee terms following the rupee's surge against the US dollar.

The Indian rupee fell 1% against the dollar on Thursday due to central bank intervention. In early afternoon deals, the partially convertible rupee was at 40.60/61 per dollar, after falling to the day's low of 40.75 from high of 40.33 earlier. The rupee hit a nine-year high of 40.28 per dollar in late May 2007.

Salora International (up 20% to Rs 124.85), Murudeshwar Ceramics (up 19.96% to Rs 109.10), Stovec Industries (up 19.96% to Rs 125.90) and Sayaji Hotels (up 19.95% to Rs 73.95), were the top gainer from the small-cap and mid-cap pack

Arihant Foundations (down 7.49% to Rs 405.20), Cravatex (down 6.67% to Rs 154), Jayant Agro (down 5.31% to Rs 112.30), Birla Kennametal (down 5% to Rs 362), and Wearology (down 5% to Rs 252.15) slipped form the small-cap and mid-cap pack

GMR Infrastructure galloped 13.86% to Rs 954 on high volumes of 48.79 lakh shares. It also struck an all-time high of Rs 980 in intra-day trade on BSE. It was the top traded counter on BSE with turnover of Rs 458.54 crore. The company had bagged the tender for developing the Sabiha Gokcen International (SGA) airport in Istanbul, Turkey. SGA is the second airport in Istanbul besides Istanbul Ataturk airport, on 11 July 2007.

Real-estate stocks rallied on renewed buying interest on hopes that interest rates have peaked. The BSE Realty index, launched by BSE on Tuesday, 10 July 2007, surged today and struck an all-time high of 7,934.49. It settled 3.33% higher at 7,880.70. A heavyweight in this index, Unitech surged 6.05% to Rs 575, and another heavyweight DLF surged 3.14% to Rs 609. Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.15% to Rs 507.15) and Mahindra Gesco Developers (up 1.67% to Rs 567.50) also gained.

Greenply Industries surged 7% to Rs 177.50 on successfully implementing its expansion project at its laminate unit at Behror, Rajasthan.

Aban Offshore rose 1.67% to Rs 3126 after Hardy Exploration & Production (India) Inc. extended its contract with the company for two years with effect from 28 July 2007. The revenue estimated during the extended period amounts to $63.875 million, the company said

VST Industries slumped 5.96% to Rs 375 on turning ex-dividend after distributing a large dividend of Rs 20 per Rs 10 share. The company's equity capital is Rs 15.44 crore, with 1.54 crore outstanding shares.

Megasoft rose 2.96% to Rs 153 after it acquired the Boston Communications Group Inc. for $65 million. The company made the announcement after market hours yesterday, 11 July 2007. The company leveraged internal accruals and long-term debts for acquiring BCGI. Founded in 1988, BCGI is a leader in providing solutions for prepaid and postpaid billing, payments and access management.

KEC International rose 1.4% to Rs 563 on bagging two Rs 176-crore contracts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, UAE. The work involves supply, erection, installation and commissioning of 380-kilo-vat (KV) transmission line comprising a total distance of 53 kilo metres (km) on the outskirts of Riyadh.

Lanco Infratech gained 8.7% to Rs 251.25. On 9 July 2007, it announced that the 500-mega watt (MW) (4x125) Teesta VI hydro power project being developed by Lanco Energy, a subsidiary of the company, in Sikkim has achieved financial closure. The project, estimated to cost Rs 3,000 crore, would be financed with a debt of Rs 2,400 crore and equity of Rs 600 crore.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation advanced 4.32% to Rs 296.95 on reporting a rise of 26.93% in net profit in Q1 June 2007 to Rs 323.15 crore as against Rs 254.58 crore in Q1 June 2006. Sales declined 2.61% to Rs 6296.61 crore (Rs 6465.61 crore). The results were announced after market hours on Wednesday, 11 July 2007.

Meanwhile, as per reports, the committee on secretaries has given a go-ahead to public sector enterprises (PSEs) to invest a part of their cash reserves, estimated at over Rs 2,50,000 crore, in mutual funds. Reports suggest that PSEs may be allowed to invest up to 10% of surplus cash in equity mutual funds.

All the Asian indices advanced today, 12 July 2007, helped by the recovery on Wall Street. However Japanese Nikkei lost 0.36% at 17,961.75, after opening higher.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 0.89% at 22,809.02), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 0.68% at 9,354.41), Singapore's Straits Times (up 0.82% at 3,624.56) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 1.06% at 1,909.75) edged higher. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.30% to 3,915.91.

European markets were trading mixed.

Bank of Japan (BoJ) left its key policy rate unchanged at 0.50% for the fifth month on Thursday, 12 July 2007, a widely expected move that sets the scene for a possible rate hike next month.

Wall Street bounced back on 11 July 2007, boosted by takeover activity ahead of second-quarter earnings reports. Investors, shaken by profit warnings earlier in the week, appeared to be cautiously optimistic as they awaited quarterly earnings reports. The Dow Jones advanced 76.17 points, or 0.56%, to 13,577.87.

Broader indexes also staged a rebound. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.64 points, or 0.57%, to 1,518.76, while the Nasdaq Composite index moved higher by 12.63 points, or 0.48%, to 2,651.79.

Oil prices were higher on Thursday, 12 July 2007 as the market continued to fret over US gasoline (petrol) reserves. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August 2007 delivery, was eight cents higher at $72.64 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for August 2007 delivery rose 10 cents to $75.54.

Intraday Stock Ideas

NIFTY (4387) Supp 4365 Res 4410

BUY Bombay Dyeing (618) SL 612
Target 630, 633

BUY Colgate (382) SL 378 
Target 390, 392

BUY Bharat Forge (312) SL 308
Target 320, 322

SELL Hero Honda (699) SL 705
Target 689, 686

SELL GSFC (174) SL 178
Target 166, 164

Infy storm passes, relief likely for bulls

The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.

With IT leader Infosys cutting guidance, the critical question now is what is the way forward for the markets in general and IT stocks in particular. Infosys results show that the rupee appreciation is having a major impact on the software industry. Even the top rung companies like Infosys are not able to fend it off. Though things my improve a little in the ensuing quarters, one has to take a call on the sector from a 12-month horizon. In the short-term, the IT sector may continue to be a laggard.

Today, things are looking bright, on the back of the overnight rally on Wall Street and healthy trend across Asian markets. But, our market will be driven by the quarterly numbers as the result season has only just begun. We do not see a non-stop advance from here as the indices are near lifetime highs. There will be many pit stops before the bulls can reach another milestone (16k, 17k or even 18k on the Sensex).

Uncertainty continues for the broader market given the sharp spike from the February-March crash. Valuations are not cheap by any means, and that too for a market which has not delivered great returns year-to-date vis-a-vis other emerging markets. As a result, we expect the current choppiness to continue for a while as the upside from here looks capped.

The large caps appear to be richly valued and in some cases even overvalued. Only a select few will have legs to rise sharply from these levels. The action, therefore may be outside the main indexes. However, one has to be extremely careful while picking the small- and mid-caps.

US stocks logged modest gains on Wednesday, on the back of renewed M&A news despite the lack of any significant earnings or economic news. Positive assessment of the economy by Fed officials also helped boost the sentiment.

Nucor Corp. and Alcoa led the S&P 500 Index to its sixth gain in seven days after Chaparral Steel agreed to be bought for $4.22bn and the Times of London reported that Alcan may be the target of a bidding war.

The S&P 500 advanced 8.64 points, or 0.6%, to 1518.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 76.17 points, or 0.6%, to 13,577.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 12.63 points, or 0.5%, to 2651.79.

Biotech firm Genentech reported a quarterly surge in earnings and revenues, handily beating Wall Street estimates. But shares of the California-based company declined in after-hours trading after finishing up 1.4% in regular trading.

Shares of the fast food operator Yum Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut and KFC, climbed over 2% after the company said its quarterly results topped expectations, while it raised its annual profit forecast.

Motorola shares slipped in extended trading after the mobile phone maker warned of a loss and lower revenue in the second quarter and that it did not expect its mobile device business to be profitable for 2007.

Oil prices finished lower after a weekly report on US fuel inventories showed a surprise decline in oil inventories. US light crude for August lost 25 cents to $72.56 a barrel. The front-month contract was quoting 7 cents up at $72.63 a barrel in extended trading.

In the bond market, Treasury prices fell, lifting the yield on the 10-year benchmark note to 5.09%, up from 5.02% late on Wednesday. The dollar fell to a record low against the euro for the second-straight session amid continued subprime worries. The greenback edged higher against the yen. COMEX gold for August fell $2.30 to $662.10 an ounce.

European markets fell as exporters were hurt by weakness in the dollar and financial-services stocks were dumped because of worries about a downbeat US housing market. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index lost 0.3% to 392.71. The German DAX 30 closed down 0.8% at 7,898.54, the French CAC-40 ahead 0.3% to 6,001.09 and the UK's FTSE 100 declined 0.2% to 6,615.10.

In the emerging markets, the Bovespa in Brazil rose 0.85% to 56,356 while the IPC index in Mexico advanced 0.55% to 31,916 and the RTS index in Russia added 0.9% to 1995.

Asian markets are up sharply this morning.

BHP Billiton led the rally among regional metal shares on higher commodity prices and speculation of further takeovers in the industry. Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest mining company, rose to a record after the Times of London said it was set to bid for Alcan.

South Korea's Posco paced a rally in steelmakers after US-based Chaparral Steel agreed to be bought for $4.22bn.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index climbed 0.3% to 157.59 at 10:44 a.m. in Tokyo, after falling yesterday by the most in two weeks. An index of materials shares including BHP posted the biggest advance among its 10 industry groups.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.4% to 18,127.90. The yen weakened against the dollar and euro. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 274 points at 22,881. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent. All markets open for trading advanced.

An index of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) added 1.1% overnight. Copper advanced 0.4%, zinc gained 2.1% and nickel climbed 2%.

Volatile day ended in negative territory as key indices witnessed a sea-saw trading session. Benchmark Sensex gyrated over 150 points and NSE Nifty nearly by 70 points. The markets opened on a weak note as weak global cues and lower guidance from IT frontrunner Infosys dragged the key indices lower. Selling pressure in the IT, Auto, Select Banking and Capital Good stocks also further dragged the markets down. Realty stocks were the pick of the day as DLF, IB Real-estate and Unitech gained momentum. Finally, the 30-share Sensex lost 99 points to close at 14910. NSE-50 Nifty slipped 18 points to close at 4387.

Infosys dropped by over 4.5% to Rs1929. The IT heavyweight reported a consolidated net profit of Rs10.79bn for Q1 FY08 versus Rs11.44bn in the previous quarter. However, revenues were flat at Rs37.73bn compared to Rs37.72bn in the January-March quarter. The company cut its earning forecast as rupee has been continuously appreciating against the US Dollar hitting the company's earning's. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs2000 and a low of Rs1925 and recorded volumes of over 47,00,000 shares on NSE.

HDFC edged lower by 0.6% to Rs1904. The company declared that they have sold 15.25mn shares to CMP Asia for 1730 per share. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs1933 and a low of Rs1900 and recorded volumes of over 2,00,000 shares on NSE.

Sadbhav Engineering edged lower 0.4% to Rs590. The company announced that they have sold 1.6mn shares at Rs575 per share to large investors. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs597 and a low of Rs589 and recorded volumes of over 13,000 shares on NSE.

Natco Pharma gained by 1% to Rs134 after the company purchased US Based Savemart Pharmacy. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs143 and a low of Rs132 and recorded volumes of over 1,00,000 shares on NSE.

Realty stocks shined in a dull market led by gains in heavy weight DLF as the scrip was up over 3% to Rs590, IB Real-estate surged by over 7% to Rs501, Parsvnath was up by 2% to Rs383, Akruti Nirman advanced by 1% to Rs501 and Unitech added 3% to Rs542.

Cement stocks were also among the major gainers. Heavy weight ACC surged by over 3.5% to Rs1071, Mangalam Cement advanced 2.5% to Rs169, India Cement gained 1.1% to Rs219. However, Gujarat Ambuja was down by 1.55 to Rs127.

IT stocks were the top losers as the index was down nearly by 3%. The Indian rupee further strengthened against its currently trading at Rs40.38 per dollar. Satyam Computer lost 3.4% to Rs480, TCS declined 3% to Rs1148, Wipro declined 1.6% to Rs511 and Mphasis BFL slipped 2.6% to Rs306.

Banking stocks also were under pressure on back of profit booking. ICICI Bank slipped 1.1% to Rs953, PNB was down by 1.6% to Rs529, SBI declined by 0.6% to Rs1541 and Corp Bank lost 1.2% to Rs347.

Results Today:

Bajaj Auto, Geojit Financial, Jaybharat Textiles, Kilburn Engineering, KSL & Industries, Pyramid Saimira, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Technocraft and UTI Bank.

Fund Activity:

FIIs were net buyers of just Rs993.4mn (provisional) in the cash segment on Wednesday. On the other hand, local institutions were net sellers at Rs3.15bn. In the F&O segment, FIIs offloaded stocks worth Rs10.16bn on the same day.

On Tuesday, FIIs poured in Rs7.02bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were net sellers of Rs1.68bn.

Major bulk Deals:

Citigroup has bought Ahmednagar Forgings while Deutsche Securities has sold the stock; Bear Stearns has sold Global Vectra Helicorp; DSP Merrill Lynch has sold India Infoline; Citigroup has purchased JM Financial; Morgan Stanley has picked up Karuturi Networks; Citicorp Banking has sold Lupin; HSBC has bought Pritish Nandy Communications and Lotus Global has sold Shiva Cement.

Insider Trades:

Prithvi Information Solutions Limited: Mr. V Satish Kumar, Managing Director has purchased from open market 5000 equity shares of the company on 3rd July, 2007.

Financial Technologies (India) Limited: Funds under the management of FMR Corp and its direct and indirect subsidiaries and Fidelity International Limited and its direct and indirect subsidiaries has sold in open market 112763
equity shares of the company on 29th June, 2007.

Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited: UBS Securities Asia Limited - A/C Swiss Finance Corporation (Mauritius) Ltd has sold in open market 280000 equity shares of the company on 6th July, 2007.

Divi's Laboratories Limited: OPPENHEIMER FUNDS INC. AC OPPENHEIMER Developing markets has purchased from open market 120,000 equity shares of the company on 9th July, 2007.

Lower Circuit:

Anant Raj Industries, Hindustan Dorr, Borosil.

Upper Circuit:

Tripex Overseas, Evinix, Goldstone Technology, Sunil Hitech, GVK Power, Tanla, GMR Industries, Shree Ashtavinyak, Radha Madhav, Ganesh Forgings, Bank of Rajasthan, Ramco Systems.

Delivery Delight :( Rising Price & Rising Delivery)

Ashok Leyland, Ballarpur Industries, Cummins India, Elder Pharma, Essar Oil, Grasim, HLL, Indian Hotels, JP Associates Jindal Stainless, Prism Cement and Sintex Industries.

Abnormal Delivery:

Tulip IT Services, Sakthi Sugars, Punj Lloyd, HT Media, Tata Elxsi, Avaya Global Connect, Corporation Bank and 3M India.

Major News & Announcements:

Reliance Communication places $400mn order with Alcatel-Lucent

NTPC Board approves Rs10bn investment in Aravali Venture

KEC International secures two projects worth Rs1.76bn

Accentia Technology plans $3 acquisition of BPO firm

Dabur India to absorb Dabur Foods

Infotech Enterprise sells 8.5% stake to GA Global investments

Sadbhav Engineering sells 1.6mn shares at Rs575 a share to large investors

HCL Tech wins 3-year contract from Konica Minolta

Natco Pharma buys US Based SaveMart Pharmacy

HDFC sells 15.25mn shares to CMP Asia for 1730 per share

Daily Strategist Note

The NIFTY futures saw a rise of 1.27% in OI with lower opening but later on recovered and closed almost flat indicating that lot of short positions built  up in the initial hours of trade but later on  market remained flat indicating that if it sustains above 4380 levels we may see shorts covering their positions in the market thus one should not make aggressive short positions in the market.  The Nifty July series futures discount came from 14 points to 1 point indicating shorts covering their positions and fresh long positions built up at lower levels.  The FII were sellers in index futures to the tune of 654 crs and buyers in index options to the tune of 255 crs indicating hedged positions built up by them.  The PCR has remained unchanged to 1.55 levels indicates strength may be seen in the market at current levels. IV in the market was 23.65 and HV was 16.34.
 
Among the Big guns, ONGC saw 0.29% drop in OI with prices coming up indicating buying emerging at lower levels in the counter suggesting some strength may be seen in the stock.  RELIANCE  saw flat OI with prices almost flat  indicating some consolidation may be seen in the stock before any sharp direction o either side.
 
In the TECH counters INFOSYSTCH saw rise of 6.22% OI with prices negative but later on remained flat indicating lot of short positions built up in the counter indicating that if the counter sustains at current levels we may see aggressive short covering.  TCS, & SATYAMCOMP saw drop in positions with prices down  thus suggesting liquidation of long  positions I the counter suggesting some profit booking may be seen in these stocks.
 
In the CEMENT  counters ,  ACC saw rise of  4.74 %   in OI with  prices moving up suggesting long positions built up in the counter suggesting strength may be seen in the stock.  INDIACEM saw rise in OI with prices marginally up indicating    buying emerging in the counter and we may see some consolidation at current levels. GUJAMBCEM saw built up in OI with prices coming down indicating short positions built up in the counter suggesting some weakness may remain in the counter.
 
In the Metal pack, TATASTEEL & JSWSTEEL saw rise in OI with prices positive suggesting further strength may be seen in the counter. SAIL saw rise in OI with prices up indicating fresh long positions built up in this stock suggesting further strength may be seen.  HIINDALCO saw rise in   OI with prices flat indicating some consolidation may be seen in the counter.  NATIONALUM saw 2.38% rise in OI with prices positive suggesting fresh buying emerging thus indicates of further strength.  STER  saw rise in OI with prices coming down indicating built up of short positions in the counter suggesting some weakness may be seen.
 
We feel that the volume and built up in OI suggests that market may show some volatility with positive bias in the coming days and market is having support around 4350 levels. One should trade with strict stop losses to be adhered too as market is at all time high.