Reliance Industrial Infrastructure - Annual Report 2008-2009

RELIANCE INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED

ANNUAL REPORT 2008-2009

DIRECTOR'S REPORT

To
The Members

Dear Members,

Your Directors are pleased to present the 21st Annual Report and the
Audited Accounts for the financial year ended 31st March, 2009.

Financial Results:

The financial performance of the Company for the financial year ended 31st
March, 2009 is summarised below:

(Rs. in Crore)

2008-2009 2007-2008

Gross Profit before
interest and
depreciation 41.53 38.51

Less : Interest 2.14 2.84

Depreciation 5.44 6.41

Less : Transfer from
Revaluation Reserve 0.86 1.08

4.58 5.33

Profit before Tax 34.81 30.34

Less : Provision for
Taxation:

- Current Tax 3.88 3.40

- Fringe Benefit Tax 0.07 0.06

- Deferred Tax 8.39 5.09

12.34 8.55

Profit after Tax 22.47 21.79

Add : Balance in
Profit and Loss Account 24.24 18.63

Amount Available for
Appropriation 46.71 40.42

Appropriations:

General Reserve 17.14 10.00

Dividend on Equity
Shares 5.28 5.28

Tax on Dividend 0.90 0.90

Balance carried to
Balance Sheet 23.39 24.24

46.71 40.42

Dividend:

Your Directors have recommended a dividend of Rs. 3.50 per Equity Share
(last year Rs.3.50 per Equity Share) on 1,51,00,000 Equity Shares of
Rs.10/- each for the financial year ended 31st March, 2009, which, if
approved at the ensuing Annual General Meeting, will be paid to those
Members whose names appear in the Company's Register of Members on 16th
August, 2009; in respect of shares held in dematerialised form, it will be
paid to members whose names are furnished by National Securities Depository
Limited and Central Depository Services (India) Limited as beneficial
owners as on that date.

The total cash outflow on account of this dividend including distribution
tax will be Rs. 6.18 crore. The Company has consistently paid dividend
since the financial year 1991-92.

Management Discussion and Analysis:

Financial and Operational Review :

The Company has earned a gross income of Rs.79.02 crore for the financial
year 2008-09, as compared to Rs.80.13 crore in the previous year.

The Company has earned a higher gross profit of Rs.41.53 crore for the year
as against Rs.38.51 crore in the previous year, showing an increase of
7.84% over the previous year. The Company has also earned a higher net
profit of Rs.22.47 crore for the year as compared to Rs.21.79 crore in the
previous year, showing an increase of 3.12% over the previous year.

Interest expenditure for the year under review has decreased to Rs.2.14
crore from Rs.2.84 crore in the previous year.

Depreciation during the year was lower at Rs.4.58 crore as compared to
Rs.5.33 crore in the previous year.

Return on equity is lower at 14.5% as compared to 15.6% in the previous
year and return on capital employed was 18.8% as compared to 13.6% in the
previous year.

Earnings per Share is Rs.14.88 as compared to Rs.14.43 in the previous
year.

Resources and Liquidity:

The debt to equity ratio of the Company is 0.15:1 as at 31st March, 2009 as
compared to 0.40:1 as at 31st March, 2008. The Company's long term debt is
Rs. 25 crore as on 31st March, 2009 as compared to Rs. 35 crore as on 31st
March, 2008.

The Company's net worth as on 31st March, 2009 was Rs.166.68 crore, with
paid-up capital of Rs.15.10 crore and accumulated reserves and surplus of
Rs.151.58 crore as compared to the net worth as on 31st March, 2008 of
Rs.151.25 crore, with paid-up capital of Rs.15.10 crore and accumulated
reserves and surplus of Rs.136.15 crore.

Industry Structure and Developments:

The strong population growth in India and its booming economy are
generating enormous pressures to modernise and expand the country's
infrastructure. Infrastructure is the basis of economic activity. India's
annual GDP growth could be faster but for the shortcomings in its
infrastructure. All economic sectors can benefit from more comprehensive
infrastructure in the country. Infrastructure sector mainly consists of
assets and services such as urban infrastructure, road transport, ports,
airport and other utilities.

The Government of India is keen to address this and is committed to
economic reforms to stimulate the development of basic infrastructure to
improve the lives of the urban and rural population and to boost the
economy. Its goal is to close the gap with the other emerging economies
within the next few years, so the development of infrastructure has a high
priority in the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

Opportunities:

The Indian Government has evidently realised both the importance of the
infrastructure sector and the necessity of attracting foreign capital, as
FDI regulations have been relaxed over the past few years. The 'macro
story' of an investment in India's infrastructure is - robust population
growth, strong economic growth and significant backlog demand.

Outlook:

The Company is confident that the present environment of investments in
infrastructure by the State and Central Governments assures sustenance of
operations going forward, and possibility to maintain the growth rates
achieved in earlier years.

Challenges, Risks and Concerns:

The Company faces normal business challenges of market competition in its
business and need to continuously seek attractive growth opportunities.
Competition from the existing and emerging local and International players
continues to pose challenges to the domestic markets. The Company has to
reckon with aggressive strategies from the new entrants in the market.

Capacity and capability enhancement, operational excellence, growth and
cost optimisation are some of the thrust areas identified by the Company to
overcome new challenges.

As a part of the overall risk management strategy, the Company consistently
insures its assets and generally follows a conservative financial profile
by following prudent business practices.

Internal Controls:

The Company has a proper and adequate internal control system commensurate
with its nature of business and meets the following objectives:

* Providing assurance regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of
operations;

* Efficient use and safeguarding of resources;

* Compliance with policies, procedures and applicable laws and regulations;
and

* Transactions being accurately recorded and promptly reported.

The Company also has budgetary control system to monitor expenditures
against approved budgets on an ongoing basis. The Audit Committee of the
Board of Directors regularly reviews the adequacy of internal control
system.

Human Resource Development:

The Company has a team of able and experienced professionals. The Company
believes that the quality of its employees is the key to its success in the
long run. The Company continues to have cordial relations with its
employees. It employs 140 persons and provides personal development
opportunities and all round exposure to them.

Subsidiaries:

During the year, Reliance Corporate Centre Limited and Reliance Convention
and Exhibition Centre Limited have become subsidiaries of the Company.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, vide order
No.47/317/2009-CL-III dated 29th April, 2009, has granted approval that the
requirement to attach various documents in respect of subsidiary companies,
as set out in sub-section (1) of Section 212 of the Companies Act, 1956,
shall not apply to the Company. Accordingly, the Balance Sheet, Profit and
Loss Account and other documents of the subsidiary companies are not being
attached with the Balance Sheet of the Company. Financial information of
the subsidiary companies, as required by the said order, is disclosed in
the Annual Report. The Company will make available the Annual Accounts of
the subsidiary companies and the related detailed information to any member
of the Company who may be interested in obtaining the same. The annual
accounts of the subsidiary companies will also be kept open for inspection
by any investor at the Registered Office of the Company and that of the
respective subsidiary companies.

Directors:

Shri Bharat C. Gosalia resigned from the office of Director of the Company
with effect from 19th January, 2009. Shri Gosalia joined the Board of the
Company on 22nd March, 1997. He was appointed as a Whole-time Director
designated as Executive Director and President of the Company with effect
from 1st July, 1997. He held this position till 30th June, 2005.
Thereafter, he continued on the Board of the Company as a Director liable
to retire by rotation. The Board wishes to place on record its immense and
sincere appreciation for the valuable guidance and contribution rendered by
Shri Bharat C. Gosalia, during his tenure as Director of the Company.

In terms of Article 143 of the Articles of Association, Shri Mahesh K.
Kamdar retires by rotation and being eligible, offers himself for re-
appointment at the ensuing Annual General Meeting.

The term of office of Shri Dilip V. Dherai expired on 30th June, 2009. The
Board of Directors has re-appointed Shri Dilip V. Dherai as a Whole-time
Director of the Company designated as Executive Director for a further
period of 5 years with effect from 1st July, 2009.

Brief Resume of the Directors proposed to be re-appointed, nature of their
expertise in specific functional areas and names of companies in which they
hold directorships and memberships/chairmanships of Board Committees, their
shareholding and relationships between them inter-se, as stipulated under
Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement with the Stock Exchanges, are provided
in the Report on Corporate Governance forming part of the Annual Report.

Group:

Pursuant to an intimation from the Promoter i.e. Reliance Industries
Limited, the names of the Promoters and entities comprising the group' as
defined in the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP') Act,
1969, are disclosed in the Annual Report of the Company for the purpose of
the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of
Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997, is provided in the Report on
Corporate Governance forming part of the Annual Report.

Directors' Responsibility Statement:

Pursuant to the requirement under Section 217(2AA) of the Companies Act,
1956, with respect to Directors' Responsibility Statement, it is hereby
confirmed that:

i. in the preparation of the accounts for the financial year ended 31st
March, 2009, the applicable accounting standards have been followed and
that there are no material departures from the same;

ii. the Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied them
consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and
prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the
Company as at 31st March, 2009 and of the profit of the Company for the
year ended on that date;

iii. the Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the
maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the
provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, for safeguarding the assets of the
Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
and

iv. the Directors have prepared the accounts for the financial year ended
31st March, 2009 on a 'going concern' basis.

Auditors:

Messrs Chaturvedi & Shah, Chartered Accountants, Statutory Auditors of the
Company hold office until the conclusion of the ensuing Annual General
Meeting and are eligible for re-appointment.

The Company has received a letter from them to the effect that their re-
appointment, if made, would be within the limits prescribed under Section
224(1B) of the Companies Act, 1956 and that they are not disqualified for
such re-appointment within the meaning of Section 226 of the said Act.

Consolidated Financial Statements:

In accordance with the Accounting Standard AS-21 on Consolidated Financial
Statements read with Accounting Standard AS-23 on Accounting for
Investments in Associates, your Directors provide the audited Consolidated
Financial Statements in the Annual Report.

Secretarial Audit Report:

As a measure of good corporate practice, the Board of Directors of the
Company appointed Dr. K. R. Chandratre, Practicing Company Secretary, to
conduct Secretarial Audit of the Company. The Secretarial Audit Report for
the financial year ended 31st March, 2009, is provided in the Annual
Report.

The Secretarial Audit Report confirms that the Company has complied with
all the applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, the Depositories
Act, 1996, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial
Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997, the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 1992
and the Listing Agreement with the Stock Exchanges.

Particulars of Employees:

In terms of the provisions of Section 217(2A) of the Companies Act, 1956
read with the Companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975.

However, having regard to the provisions of Section 219(1)(b)(iv) of the
said Act, the Annual Report excluding the aforesaid information is being
sent to all the Members of the Company and others entitled thereto. A
member interested in obtaining such particulars may write to the Company
Secretary at the Registered Office of the Company.

Energy Conservation, Technology Absorption and Foreign Exchange Earnings
and Outgo:

The particulars relating to energy conservation, technology absorption and
foreign exchange earnings and outgo, as required to be disclosed under
Section 217(1)(e) of the Companies Act, 1956 read with the Companies
(Disclosure of Particulars in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules, 1988
(the 'Rules') are as under:

i. Part A and B of the Rules, pertaining to Conservation of Energy and
Technology Absorption, are not applicable to the Company.

ii. Foreign Exchange Earnings and Outgo:

Earnings - Rs. Nil
Outgo - Rs. 32.17 crores

Transfer of Unclaimed and Unpaid amounts to Investor Education and
Protection Fund:

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 205A(5) of the Companies Act, 1956,
the declared dividends which remained unclaimed and unpaid for a period of
7 years have been transferred by the Company to the Investor Education and
Protection Fund established by the Central Government pursuant to Section
205C of the said Act.

Corporate Governance:

The Company is committed to maintain the highest standards of Corporate
Governance. Your Directors adhere to the requirements set out in the
Listing Agreement with the Stock Exchanges and have implemented all the
stipulations prescribed.

The Report on Corporate Governance as stipulated under Clause 49 of the
Listing Agreement with the Stock Exchanges forms part of the Annual Report.

The declaration regarding compliance with the Company's Code of Business
Conduct and Ethics for Directors and Management Personnel forms part of the
Report on Corporate Governance.

The requisite Certificate from the Auditors of the Company, Messrs
Chaturvedi & Shah, confirming compliance of the conditions of Corporate
Governance as stipulated under the aforesaid Clause 49, is annexed to this
Report.

Acknowledgement:

Your Directors would like to express their grateful appreciation for
assistance and co-operation received from the Government, Banks, other
Business constituents and Members during the year under review.

Your Directors also wish to place on record their deep sense of
appreciation for the committed services of the Employees of the Company.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors

Mahesh K. Kamdar
Chairman

Place : Mumbai,
Date : 30th July, 2009

Weekly Support and Resistance Levels - Sep 5 2009

September, 2009
COMPANY NAME	S3	S2	S1	CLOSING PRICE	R1	R2	R3
ABB	673	700	725	752	777	804	829
ACC	708	736	765	793	821	849	878
Ambuja Cem	94	96	98	100	102	104	105
BHEL	1,987	2,052	2,147	2,212	2,307	2,372	2,466
BPCL	407	465	501	559	595	653	689
Bharti	353	367	390	405	428	443	466
Cairn	232	240	251	260	270	279	290
Cipla	250	256	262	268	274	280	286
DLF	345	367	392	415	439	462	487
Gail	308	326	338	357	369	387	399
Grasim	2,482	2,555	2,606	2,679	2,730	2,803	2,854
HCL Tech	269	282	292	305	315	328	338
HDFC Bank	1,362	1,392	1,424	1,454	1,486	1,516	1,548
Hero Honda	1,383	1,473	1,521	1,611	1,660	1,749	1,798
Hindalco	94	98	101	105	109	113	116
HUL	239	252	260	273	282	294	303
HDFC	2,240	2,318	2,385	2,463	2,530	2,608	2,675
ICICI Bank	667	691	719	744	772	797	825
Idea	75	77	78	81	82	84	86
Infosys	2,046	2,105	2,142	2,201	2,238	2,297	2,334
ITC	214	221	226	233	238	246	251
L&T	1,404	1,461	1,511	1,567	1,617	1,674	1,724
M&M	717	769	815	867	913	965	1,011
Maruti	1,260	1,370	1,437	1,547	1,613	1,723	1,790
Nalco	294	306	322	334	350	362	378
NTPC	190	195	202	206	213	218	224
ONGC	1,074	1,111	1,141	1,178	1,208	1,245	1,275
Powergrid	101	103	105	107	109	111	113
PNB	630	647	664	681	699	716	733
Ranbaxy	282	294	309	322	337	349	365
Rcom	232	255	269	292	305	329	342
Reliance	1,774	1,840	1,915	1,981	2,056	2,122	2,196
Reliance Infra	1,047	1,080	1,111	1,144	1,175	1,208	1,238
Reliance Petro	112	115	119	123	127	130	134
Reiance Power	151	155	158	162	165	169	173
Satyam	93	102	111	120	129	138	147
Siemens	441	461	484	504	527	547	570
SBI	1,659	1,696	1,725	1,762	1,791	1,828	1,857
SAIL	140	150	155	164	169	179	184
Sterlite	575	610	635	670	696	731	757
Sunpharma	1,099	1,142	1,167	1,210	1,235	1,277	1,303
Suzlon	81	88	93	100	105	112	117
Tata Com.	445	461	480	496	515	530	549
TCS	494	507	519	532	545	557	570
Tata Motors	424	453	479	508	534	563	589
Tata Power	1,162	1,205	1,250	1,293	1,338	1,381	1,426
Tata Steel	382	400	413	430	443	461	473
Unitech	86	94	99	107	112	120	125
Wipro	522	531	543	552	564	573	584
Zee	191	198	206	212	220	227	235
NOTE : S1, S2 and S3 are critical support levels while R1, R2 and R3 are resistance levels. Trading call depends on the price band

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Sensex declines over a percent during the week

Indian equities lost over 233 points during the week on the back of discouraging global cues, poor monsoon worries affecting economic conditions and heavy sell-off seen in frontliners.

The week started on a negative note and continued to trade weak for the fourth straight session. However the index snapped four days losing streak and ended on a higher note with sustained buying interest.

The 30 share index, Sensex lost 233.22 points, or 1.46%, to end at 15,689.12 for the week ended Sep. 04, 2009 as compared to last week surge of 681.51 points at 15,922.34. On the other hand, the broad based NSE Nifty dropped 51.95 points, or 1.10%, to end at 4,680.40 in the same period.

Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation stood at -0.21% for the week ended on Aug. 22, 2009 as compared to -0.95% in the previous week ended Aug. 15, 2009. Inflation was at 12.76% during the corresponding week of the previous year. The official WPI for `All Commodities` rose by 0.8.

India`s Q1 gross domestic product (GDP) for FY`09-10 stands at 6.1% versus 5.8% over the corresponding quarter of previous financial year.

Mid-cap stocks lost 30.48 points, or 0.52%, to 5,833.22 in the week. While small-cap shares gained 29.75 points, or 0.43%, to 6,991.51 during the week.

Top gainers over the week in the sectoral indices were BSE Auto gained 4.54%, BSE Realty 0.20%, BSE FMCG rose 0.09%, BSE IT climbed 0.08%.

Capital Goods dropped 2.57%, Power fell 2.29%, HC lost 1.84%, Oil & Gas declined 1.64%, and Metal went down 1.29% among major losers in the sectoral indices over the week.

Major gainers in 30-share index were Reliance Communications (10.10%), Maruti Suzuki India (8.75%), Hero Honda Motors (6.99%), Hindustan Unilever (4.74%), and Mahindra & Mahindra (4.61%) over the week.

On the other hand Bharti Airtel (6.57%), Jaiprakash Associates (5.59%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (5.04%), Reliance Industries (4.32%), and Hindalco Industries (3.75%) were the major losers in the Sensex over the week.

Poor show by IPOs to hit forthcoming ipos

Call it a day of coincidence , but the fact is two high-profile IPOs in recent months, and both from the power sector—Adani Power and NHPC— closed below their respective IPO prices for the first time. And if market analysts are to be believed, this will surely put pressure on the forthcoming IPOs, even if some of those were from outside the power sector.

On Friday, Adani Power, which had offered its shares in the IPO at Rs 100, closed on the NSE at Rs 98.65—a marginal discount from its IPO price of Rs 100. The company’s IPO closed on July 31 and the stock was listed on August 20.

In the case of NHPC, the slide below the IPO price was faster than in case of Adani Power. In less than a week of its listing on September 1, the stock fell below its offer price on Friday to close at Rs 35.25. The IPO closed on August 12.

In the IPO, NHPC shares were offered at Rs 36, at the higher end of the Rs 30-36 price band after the issue was subscribed nearly 24 times. There was exceptional interest from the high net-worth individuals (HNIs)—who mostly apply on borrowed money for short-term listing gainsand the HNI portion was subscribed over 56 times.

Since HNIs apply in IPOs with borrowed money, they make profit on listing only if they can recover their interest costs over and above the IPO price. In the NHPC issue, per share borrowing cost for HNIs was Rs 6.75. So they could have made money only if the stock went above the Rs 43 mark. Since listing the highest it had gone was Rs 42. Market players pointed out that HNIs who had applied with borrowed money actually lost in the issue .

About 16.4 crore NHPC shares were allotted to this investor group and there was substantial selling pressure from Day 1, dealers said. The below-IPO price closing for the two stocks came just days before the launch of Oil India IPO on Sept 7. Market players feel the investor disappointment with Adani Power and NHPC issues could also work as a warning sign for companies planning IPO and their merchant bankers to price their issues reasonably and leave some room for appreciation post-listing .

Incidentally, the close-below-IPO-price for the two issues came within days of Enam Securities, one of the lead brokerages in the market that is known for its syndication prowess in the public offering space, circulated a confidential presentation about its edge in marketing power sector IPOs.

The presentation claimed that since February 2004, through 13 power-sector IPOs it has mobilised about 35%, or Rs 4.5 lakh crore worth of demand out a total demand of nearly Rs 13 lakh crore. Enam Sec was among the lead managers to Adani Power and NHPC IPOs

A bounceback in global markets, followed by short covering by speculators, pushed the BSE sensex up by 291 points to 15,689. The day’s
gain—after four consecutive sessions of losses—came despite selling by foreign and domestic institutions, and in the absence of any major change in the rainfall scenario, market players said.

Provisional trading data showed that FIIs were net sellers at Rs 400 crore while net outflow by domestic institutions was at Rs 5 crore.

The sensex opened flat and remained in a narrow range till mid-session but then started gaining momentum. In late session, as speculators rushed in too cover their short positions to minimise their losses, the index rose to a n intraday high of 15,741. Only two of 30 sensex stocks—Tata Motors and TCS—ended in the red. Investors were richer by Rs 65,000 crore.

via Economic Times

Reliance Industries

Reliance Industries

Jayshree Tea

Jayshree Tea

Reliance Communications Ltd

Reliance Communications Ltd

Top Stock Picks - Sep 5 2009

Top Stock Picks - Sep 5 2009

Weekly Wrap - Sep 5 2009

Weekly Wrap - Sep 5 2009

ValueGuide - Sep 2009

ValueGuide - Sep 2009

Oil India IPO Review

Oil India IPO Review

NSE launches trading in interest rate futures

Trading in interest rate futures began on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Aug. 31. The contracts are based on 10-year government bonds bearing a notional coupon of 7% per annum, compounded every six months. Banks and companies can hedge against interest rate risks using interest rate futures. "The launch of interest rate derivatives means a lot to the NSE, its constituency of brokers and all economic entities who face interest rate risk," NSE Managing Director Ravi Narain said. The contracts would be settled in March, June, September and December. The maximum maturity will be 12 months.

Interest rate futures clocked trading volumes of Rs2.76bn in their very first day of trade. Trade in the newly-launched derivatives is expected to pick up with regulators and government officials stating that the exchange-traded instruments are superior to over-the-counter overnight index swaps. Close to 15,000 contracts of the two bond futures were traded on Aug. 31 - based on the 10-year notional bond maturing in December 2009 and March 2010.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has laid down detailed guidelines for trading in the interest rate futures. Commercial banks are allowed to take trading positions for themselves but can not trade on behalf of their clients. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has received regulatory approval for interest rates futures while the Multi Commodity Exchange's foreign exchange derivatives bourse has also sought permission to launch trade in interest rate futures.

Interest-rate futures are the first major product to be introduced in India after the launch of currency futures in August 2008. Currency futures have steadily picked up, with the combined daily turnover across exchanges totaling more than US$2bn.

Weekly Stock Picks - Sep 5 2009

Buy Punj Lloyd

Buy Suzlon

Buy Praj Inds

Buy Kotak Bank

Buy Mphasis

Weekly Newsletter - Sep 5 2009

The key indices struggled for most of the week only to bounce back on Friday. The recovery was not enough to end the Sensex and Nifty in the green for the week. The coming week is likely to start on a directionless note. The US market will remain closed on account of Labour Day. Not much data is expected from the global or domestic market. The attention will be on the Oil India IPO, which will open on Sept 7. Just hope, Oil’s well that end’s well.

The finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 group of nations are likely to pledge this weekend to keep economic stimulus measures in place until recovery is certain. At the end of a two-day meeting in London they will seek to reassure financial markets that they have credible plans to withdraw the stimulus measures at the right time.

Policymakers worldwide are cautious, especially given the fact that most major economies are still shrinking this year and are only expected to post sluggish growth next year. The IMF now forecasts global shrinkage of 1.3% in 2009, a shade less than its April forecast of a 1.4% contraction, and growth of 2.9% in 2010, revised up from 2.5% previously. "Unwinding the stimulus too soon runs a real risk of derailing the recovery, with potentially significant implications for growth and unemployment," says IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Meanwhile, the US August non-farm payrolls fell by 216,000, beating Wall Street expectations. The smallest decline in payrolls since August 2008 was the 20th consecutive monthly drop. The US unemployment rate jumped to 9.7% in August versus estimate of 9.5%.

Coming back to the Indian market, the trend will remain volatile with no clear direction in sight in the near term. The broader market could yet again hog the limelight, with large caps looking relatively expensive. At the cost of sounding repetitive, we would urge caution as far as small- and mid-cap stocks are concerned. The overall market itself is looking tired after a terriffic run in the past few months. A wait and watch approach should help you to tide over the heightened uncertainty and volatility.