Good Evening - May 18 2007

Key share indices were up over 1% buoyed by gains in Asian and US indices. Bank shares extended gains from the previous session as analysts upgraded their ratings. SBI, up 3% at Rs 1,322 was the top Nifty gainer. ICICI Bank was up 2.5% at Rs 943 after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to "neutral" rating from "sell". At 10:35AM, Sensex was 14295.51, up 168.20 points or 1.2%. Nifty was at 4211.05, up 40.00 points or 1%. The CNX Midcap Index and S&P CNX 500 Index were up 1% each. On BSE, advances led declines 3:1 in the morning session. Shares of oil retailers rebounded on a newspaper report the petroleum ministry is mulling a proposal to hike fuel prices due to rising global prices. HPCL was up 2.5% at Rs 305 and BPCL was up 2% at Rs 375. Tata Steel was up 2% at Rs 600 as the company is expected to report 50% on year rise in Jan-Mar net profit. VSNL was up 3% at Rs 467 on plans to enhance the footprint of its Wi-Fi services in India. NALCO, down 1% at Rs 254, was the worst hit on Nifty. Bajaj Auto was down 0.3% at Rs 2,672 ahead of its board meet that will detail the company's Jan-Mar earnings and mull demerger of its financial services and manufacturing business. Delhi-based real estate major Unitech was up 7% at Rs 572 on news of 10 block deals in the stock today. Suzlon Energy was 2% at Rs 1,156 after the company said it would raise $300 mn through foreign currency convertible bonds. The FCCBs have a maturity of 5 years and 1 day, and are convertible at Rs 1,800 a share, a 59% premium to Wednesday's closing price of Rs 1,134 on NSE. In the mid trading session, Markets gained further. At around 12.30PM, Sensex was up 193 points at 14320 levels. Nifty was trading at 4220 level, up 48 points. Though market breadth weakened as the A: D ratio declined to 1.2:1 for overall markets. The A: D ratio was 4.8:1 for Sensex and 6.1:1 for Nifty. Usha Martin was up 2.1% at Rs 247.50. In Q4, its net profit jumped 45% at Rs 29 cr from Rs 20 cr in Q4 last fiscal. The company also announced 1:5 stock split. Spicejet was up 1.8% at Rs 44.40. The airlines will raise $100 mn in Jun-Jul 2008 to fund aircraft buy. The company is fully funded for the current financial year. Unichem was up 0.7% at Rs 264. The company reported 20.5% jump in net profit at Rs 18.8 cr from Rs 13.5 cr in Q4 last fiscal. Orient Paper was up 4.5% at Rs 477. The company’s board will meet on May 24 to consider the price and record date for its Rs 175 cr rights issue. Bajaj Auto recouped losses and gained 2% at Rs 2,729 after it approved plan to demerge its manufacturing and financial services businesses. Bajaj Auto reported Jan-Mar net profit of 3.1 bn, down 11% on year. Shares of metal companies fell as zinc and copper prices declined in Shanghai on oversupply. NALCO and Sterlite Industries were down 1% each. Shares of Patni Computer Systems were up 9% at Rs 517 on talk the company may be bought over by IBM Key shares indices ended up over 1% led by gains in bank, oil and gas shares. Firm trend in No. of Scrips Value (Crs.) Advances 515 9585 Declines 547 2767 Unchanged 28 4 Total 1090 12356 Asian and European markets helped market rise. BSE Auto Index, down 1%, was the sole laggard among BSE sectoral indices, weighed down by 7% fall in Bajaj Auto shares. Bajaj Auto shares plunged 7% to Rs 2,504 on concerns the valuations of its insurance business would come off sharply if its partner Allianz SE hiked stake in the company to 50% from 26% now. Sensex ended at 14299.71, up 172.40 points or 1.2% from Wednesday. Intraday it moved between 14217.31 and 14352.98. Nifty ended at 4219.55, up 48.60 points or 1.2%. Intraday it moved between 4172.10 and 4232.45. Turnover on both the exchanges was roughly Rs 182 bn, compared to Rs 132 bn Wednesday. The CNX Midcap Index and S&P CNX 500 Index ended up 1%. Oil retailers were top gainers on Nifty on a newspaper report the petroleum ministry is mulling a proposal to hike fuel prices by Rs 1-2 per 1 L. HPCL, up 3.4% at Rs 307, was the top Nifty gainer. BPCL was up 3% at Rs 379.5. Banks shares ended up amid news of consolidation in the sector and as analysts upgraded their ratings. SBI was up 3.4% at Rs 1,327 and gained 8% since it got approval Tuesday to dilute its stake in its subsidiary banks to 51%. Tata Steel rose 2% to 598 rupees after it reported Jan-Mar net profit of Rs 11 bn, up 41% from a year ago. Dabur Pharma ended up 4% at Rs 68 after Jan-Mar net profit surged 13 times to Rs 27 mn from Rs 2.1 bn a year ago. Deccan Aviation surged 23% to Rs 145 on buying by hedge funds. Unitech gained 5.5% to Rs 565 on news of 10 block deals in the stock on NSE today. United Spirits surged 9% to Rs 974 after the company Wednesday acquired Glasgow-based Whyte & Mackay for 595 mn pounds. Bajaj Auto shares hogged the limelight today. The stock was slightly down due to the announcement of its demerger plans and Jan-Mar earnings. It shot up 2% after the company approved a proposal to set up two separate companies to split the group's automobile and finance businesses. All automobile businesses will be transferred to Bajaj Holdings and Investment Ltd., and wind power, insurance, consumer finance business to Bajaj Finserv Ltd. However, the share ended down 7%, worst hit on Nifty, after the company said cost pressure would continue for next two quarters. Today, the company posted a 11% on year fall in Jan-Mar net profit at Rs 3 bn. Shares of metal companies ended down as zinc and copper prices declined in Shanghai on oversupply of the metals. Sterlite Industries and NALCO were down 2% each, at Rs 558 and Rs 252, respectively. Siemens India ended down 2% at Rs 1,222 after gaining 3% in the last three sessions. Tech stocks ended up with exception. Infosys was up at Rs 1983.50 with volumes of Rs 423.45 crs, Satyam was up at Rs 452.55 with volumes of Rs 189.45 crs, Patni was up at Rs 514.75 with volumes of Rs 97.49 crs, and Rolta closed down at Rs 442.55 with volumes of Rs 95.19 crs. Pharma stocks witnessed mixed trend. Dr Reddy was up at Rs 678.45 with volumes of Rs 75.11 crs, Cipla closed down at Rs 208.50 with volumes of Rs 45.30 crs, Glenmark was up at Rs 668.05 with volumes of Rs 33.75 crs, and Ranbaxy closed down at Rs 394.75 with volumes of Rs 25.49 crs. Banking stocks ended up. In the Public Sector banks SBI closed up at Rs 1327.15 with volumes Rs 317.83 crs & Bank Of India closed up at Rs 208.10 with volumes Rs 50.64 crs. In the private sector ICICI Bank closed up at Rs 938.05 with volume of Rs 220.23 crs & HDFC Bank closed up at Rs 1042.05 with volumes of Rs 120.87 crs. Auto Stocks ended positive with exception. Tata Motors closed up at Rs 750.60 with volumes of Rs.115.03 crs & M&M closed up at Rs 728.10 with volumes of Rs 96.30 crs. While in the 2 wheeler segment stocks, Bajaj Auto closed down at Rs 2503.90 with volumes of Rs 490.37 crs & Hero Honda closed up at Rs 678.30 with volumes of Rs 8.59 crs. Cement Stocks ended positive. India Cement closed up at Rs 189.85 with volumes of Rs 39.62 crs, GACL closed up at Rs 123.40 with volumes of Rs 36.39 crs, ACC closed up at Rs 888.45 with volumes of Rs 33.86 crs and Shree Cement closed up at Rs 1110 with volumes of Rs 15.56 crs. Nifty ended at 4220 up by 49 points.