Good Evening - Apr 27 2007

Key indices were up 1% on upbeat sentiment as Jan-Mar results from corporate India continued to be robust. Short covering on expiry of April derivatives contract and overnight rally in U.S. indices also boosted gains. Strength in U.S. and Asian equities also kept sentiment upbeat. At 10:20AM, Sensex was 14342.70, up 124.93 points or 0.9%. Nifty was at 4206.20, up 38.90 points or 0.9%. The CNX Midcap Index was up 0.8% and S&P CNX 500 Index up 1.0%. On the BSE, there were around four advances for every decline in morning. The BSE Healthcare Index, up 1.1%, gained the most among sector indices. The biggest Nifty gainers were: Grasim Industries, up 3.3% at Rs 2,518, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals, up 2.4% at Rs 1,245, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises, up 1.8% at Rs 293. Grasim gained as the company Wednesday reported Jan-Mar net profit at Rs 4.74 bn, up 81% on year and higher than street expectations. Reliance Industries was up 1.5% at Rs 1,622. The only Nifty laggards were: Hero Honda Motors, down 1.2% at Rs 686, HDFC, down marginally at Rs 1,749 and HCL Technologies nearly flat at Rs 333. Tata Tea shares, which gained 15% Wednesday, were up 6% at Rs 818 extending gains on news. The Coca Cola Company is making a bid for Energy Brands, in which Tata Tea has 30% stake. Technology shares are likely to stay weak and may fall later in the session as the rupee has risen to 40.75 per $1 today against 40.91 per $1 Wednesday. In the mid trading session, indices were up nearly 1%, as the sentiment remained upbeat on robust Jan-Mar corporate earnings. Short covering on the April contract's expiry also boosted gains. At around 1.30PM, Sensex was at 14296.04, up 78.27 points, or 0.6% from Wednesday's Close. NSE Nifty was at 4196.15, up 28.85 points, or 0.7%. ABB was off lows after it reported Jan-Mar net profit of Rs 866 mn, up 69% from a year ago and higher than analysts' average estimate of Rs 731 mn. The stock was down 0.2% at Rs 4,037. Suzlon Energy, up 3% at Rs 1,224, was top Nifty gainer. Hero Honda, down 4% at Rs 669, was worst-hit among Nifty stocks. ABB was trading flat at Rs 4046 despite good results. In Q1, its net profit jumped to Rs 86.6 cr Vs Rs 51.3 cr. Revenue stood at Rs 1327.6 cr Vs Rs 802.91 cr. Vijaya Bank was trading very strong at Rs 50, up 10%. The bank will set up 350 new ATMs during the next fiscal from 170 ATMs now. Hindalco was down 0.3% at Rs 149. As per market report, Hindalco has bid for 88% stake in Bosnia�s aluminium smelter Aluminij Mostar which is valued at $ 104.8 mn. 7 other companies are there in race. Ranbaxy was up 0.5% at Rs 371.50. The company received final USFDA approval to manufacture and market $2.12bn drug Zolpidem tablets in US. Dr. Reddy was trading strong at Rs 723, up 2%. Australia�s Alchemia ties up with Dr. Reddy for marketing synthetic Heparin. The market size of synthetic Heparin is $ 3.7bn. No. of Scrips Value (Crs.) Advances 525 8421 Declines 524 3284 Unchanged 25 40 Total 1074 11745 Key indices ended nearly flat today as investors unwound long positions on the expiry of April derivatives contracts. Shares had opened over 1% higher on the back of firm global equities and earnings optimism as most Jan-Mar results have been ahead of expectations. However, losses in heavyweights ONGC, Reliance Industries, and Tata Steel, dragged the Sensex and Nifty off highs midway through the session. "Indices were volatile today as there was very little short covering left in the market and rollover activity was high Sensex ended at 14228.88, up 11.11 points or 0.1%, after touching a low of 14127.18 and a high of 14383.72 intraday. Nifty ended at 4177.85, up 10.55 points or 0.2%. It moved between a low of 4143.25 and a high of 4217.90 in the session. CNX Midcap Index ended down 0.5% and S&P CNX 500 Index up marginally. The BSE Capital Goods Index was the biggest sectoral gainer, up 1%. HPCL, up 3.6% at Rs 271, and BPCL, up 3.1% at Rs 339, were two of the biggest Nifty gainers as crude oil prices eased 18 cents to $65.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Grasim Industries ended at Rs 2,509, up 3% after reporting robust March quarter earnings Wednesday. However, the rise in the stock's price is likely to be limited as cement shares are likely to be under pressure this year due to restrictions on pricing freedom. Shares of ABB rose 1.3% to Rs 4,096 after Jan-Mar net profit rose 69% on year to Rs 866 mn. The company's order book stands at a robust 42.60 bn. Cholamandalam DBS Finance shares were at Rs 26, hitting 10% upper circuit after the company's Jan-Mar profit more than trebled to 154.9 mn. HCL Technologies, down 2.4% at Rs 325, and Hero Honda Motors, down 1.9% at Rs 681, were the worst hit in the Nifty. Nifty heavyweight ONGC ended down 1.4% at Rs 958. The company may buy up to 33% in an Egyptian gas block from Royal Dutch Shell, Reliance Industries ended down 0.5% at Rs 1,590 ahead of its Jan-Mar earnings announcement. Tech stocks ended in mixed trend. Infosys was down at Rs 2018.85 with volumes of Rs 292.83 crs, TCS was up at Rs 1240.40 with volumes of Rs 183.34 crs, Satyam was down at Rs 461.40 with volumes of Rs 176.41 crs, and Wipro closed up at Rs 563.65 with volumes of Rs 124.01 crs. Pharma stocks ended positive. Ranbaxy was up at Rs 370.40 with volumes of Rs 98.41 crs, Dr Reddy closed up at Rs 716.65 with volumes of Rs 72.03 crs, Cipla was up at Rs 253.40 with volumes of Rs 64.95 crs, and Sun Pharma closed up at Rs 1072.50 with volumes of Rs 28.88 crs. Banking stocks showed buying opportunity. In the Public Sector banks SBI closed up at Rs 1145.30 with volumes Rs 144.61 crs & PNB closed up at Rs 511.60 with volumes Rs 83.21 crs. In the private sector ICICI Bank closed up at Rs 961.45 with volume of Rs 211.84 crs & HDFC Bank closed up at Rs 1034.45 with volumes of Rs 130.44 crs. Auto Stocks ended up. Tata Motors closed up at Rs 766.60 with volumes of Rs.163.67 crs & M&M closed up at Rs 766.60 with volumes of Rs 82.41 crs. While in the 2 wheeler segment stocks, Baja Auto closed up at Rs 2497 with volumes of Rs 62.21 crs & Hero Honda closed up at Rs 681.15 with volumes of Rs 28.66 crs. Cement Stocks witnessed positivity with exception. India Cement closed up at Rs 184.35 with volumes of Rs 99 crs, GACL closed down at Rs 119.25 with volumes of Rs 81.65 crs, ACC closed up at Rs 830.85 with volumes of Rs 65.62 crs and Birla Jute closed up at Rs 236.55 with volumes of Rs 1.89ss crs. Nifty ended at 4178 up by 11 points