Market Close: Down but not out ! All eyes on Infy !

Tracking the global trends, Indian indices had weak session for the second day. Indices traded on a weak note since the start of the trade. Profit booking was seen across the board except selective stocks in Software, Pharma and Airlines where there was some buying interest. IT major Infosys firmed up further as every one awaits the giants results which is due tomorrow. The key economic data of February 2007 industrial production output rises to 11.1% VS 8.8%, which shows no signs of slowdown in the economy. Asian markets ended in mixed where as European markets currently trading in red.

Sensex closed down 69 points at 13113.81. Weighing on the Sensex were losses in ONGC (852.5,-3 percent), TISCO (495.95,-3 percent), Ranbaxy (335.15,-3 percent), HDFC (1536.95,-3 percent) and Maruti (759.8,-3 percent). Losses are restricted by gains in Bajaj Auto (2349.3501,+3 percent), Infosys (2043.65,+3 percent), Grasim (2258.6499,+2 percent), NTPC (159.9,+1 percent) and Satyam (446.1,+1 percent).

Infosys numbers are due tomorrow and a lot is being made of it. Guidance expected is about 22- 28% for bottomline growth next year. Valuations at 24 X FY 08 certainly not enthusing in the current environment. So better to be careful here. There are short positions and that may limit the downsides.

Jet Airways India Ltd and Sahara Airlines have settled their dispute with regard to the Share Purchase Agreement of January 18, 2006. Jet is set to acquire Sahara Airlines for a lump sum price of Rs 1450 cr. Rs 500 cr has already been paid. Rs 400 cr is payable immediately no later than April 20, 2007. The balance Rs 550 cr is payable in four interest free annual equal instalments commencing on or before March 30, 2008. Jet closed up by 2.83% and its peer Deccan Aviation ended up 10%.

Telecom stocks closed in red on profit taking . Sustaining its aggressive growth in subscriber additions, the GSM-based cellular industry has added over 61 lakh subscribers in March with Bharti Airtel capturing 30.59% of the market share. With this, the all-India GSM subscriber base has touched 12.14 crore at the end of March 2007 compared to 11.53 crore as on end of February 2007, reflecting a growth rate of five per cent. In March, the cellular subscriber base of Bharti touched 3.71 crore with additions of over 17 lakh users, followed by BSNL at 2.74 crore with a market share of 22.59 per cent and additions of over 19.84 lakh subscribers. Hutch-Essar has 2.64 crore subscribers, taking its market share to 21.78% and Idea with a market share of 11.54% has 1.4 crore subscribers in March. Bharti Airtel closed marginally down and its peer R Com, MTNL and VSNL ended in red. Idea closed positive.

Educomp Solutions closed at the upper limit. The company has acquired a Web based trailing company and also bagged some orders in Haryana. We have been bullish on this one and our stand has been vindicated. Do read our research note here. We had a research note on Esab as well. This one looks interesting. Do read the note. Its for our subscribers.. may be here is a hidden gem as well.

Technically Speaking: It was a weak session for the whole day before closing. Sensex touched intraday high of 13194 and low of 12904. Sensex has closed above its resistance at 13170. On the higher side it is looking to hit near 13400 whereas on the lower side major support likes at 12900. Resistance lies at 13289, 13386. Support lies at 13000, 12808. Market turnover stood at Rs 3075 cr. Overall breadth was in favor of Advancers where the Advancers stood at 1916, Decliners stood at 632.