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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Market Trading Holidays - 2010 - NSE - BSE
26-Jan-10 Tuesday Republic Day
12-Feb-10 Friday Mahashivratri
01-Mar-10 Monday Holi
16-Mar-10 Tuesday Gudi Padwa
24-Mar-10 Wednesday Ram Navmi
01-Apr-10 Thursday Annual Closing of Banks
02-Apr-10 Friday Good Friday
14-Apr-10 Wednesday Ambedkar Jayanti
27-May-10 Thursday Buddha Pournima
19-Aug-10 Thursday Parsi New Year
10-Sep-10 Friday Ramzan ID
30-Sep-10 Thursday Half Yearly Closing of Banks
05-Nov-10 Friday Diwali / LaxmiPuja*
17-Nov-10 Wednesday Bakri ID
17-Dec-10 Friday Moharram
The holidays falling on Saturday / Sunday are as follows:
27-Feb-10 Saturday Id-e-Milad
28-Mar-10 Sunday Mahavir Jayanti
01-May-10 Saturday May Day
15-Aug-10 Sunday Independence Day
11-Sep-10 Saturday Ganesh Chaturthi
02-Oct-10 Saturday Gandhi Jayanti
17-Oct-10 Sunday Dussera-Vijaya Dashami
07-Nov-10 Sunday Bhau Bhij
21-Nov-10 Sunday Gurunanak Jayanti
25-Dec-10 Saturday Christmas
Analyst upgrades fuel US stocks
Alcoa and Intel jointly contribute around 12 points for Dow to rise
US stocks managed a strong start and finish for the day on Monday, 21 December 2009. A relatively weak dollar helped stocks right out of the gate since today morning. Other than that, couple of better than expected earning reports and analyst upgrades of some key companies also helped stocks stay strong today. But dollar also recovered since the open. Some merger related news also aided the rally in the broader market.
At the end, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher by 85.25 (0.8%) points at 10,414.14. Nasdaq ended higher by 25.97 points (1.1%) at 2237.66. S&P 500 ended higher by 11.58 points (1%) at 1114.05.
All the ten economic sectors ended higher for the day led by materials, consumer discretionary and financial sectors.
Health-care stocks also helped to lead the market higher after the Senate voted on Monday to advance health-care legislation in an initial procedural vote, beginning a process that puts the bill on track for passage later this week.
Alcoa was among the key gainers among the Dow components and led the rally in the broader market following an upgrade at Morgan Stanley. The component also aided in the rally in the commodities sector.
In the technology sector, Intel was the major driving force after getting an upgrade at Barclays. Apple, Microsoft, and Cisco Systems were other tech stocks that sported strong gains.
Alcoa and Intel jointly contributed around 12 points of hike in the Dow.
Among earning reports expected for the day, Walgreens and ConAgra announced better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter. ConAgra also announced an increase in its outlook for fiscal 2010.
In the merger and acquisition area, Terex agreed to sell its mining business to Bucyrus for $1.3 billion.
Crude prices ended lower on Monday, 21 December 2009. Prices fell as traders mulled over the fact that there might be an interest rate hike in the medium term. The relatively strong dollar was also a reason for a drop in prices today. There are a plethora of economic reports expected at US market this week which might show that the economy is slowly emerging out of the recession and hence lead to a rate hike.
On Monday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for January delivery closed at $72.47/barrel (lower by $0.89 or 1.2%). Earlier in the day, it was trading higher.
In the currency market on Monday, the greenback started the day relatively weak with the dollar index trading with a fractional loss after it was down roughly 0.2% earlier this morning. Then, the dollar's move caused a pullback in commodity prices. The dollar index, which weighs the strength of dollar against the basket of six other currencies rose by almost 0.3%. Last week, the dollar index gained almost 1.7%.
Indian ADRs ended mixed on Monday with more losers than gainers. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the main gainers adding 1.8% and 1.3% to their last closing prices. VSNL and Wipro Technologies were the main losers slipping 5.5% and 3.5% respectively.
For tomorrow, there are two economic reports scheduled to be released before the open. They are the GDP (Third estimate) and GDP Prices data. Couple of earning reports is also expected.
Market may snap last three days of fall on firm Asia
The market may gain tracking firm Asian stocks after US stocks surged on Monday. Higher advance tax payment by India Inc may further boost sentiment.
Advance tax payments by Indian firms rose an annual 24 % in October-December, signaling higher corporate profits and raising prospects that the country may exceed the target for direct taxes, a finance ministry official said on Monday. The corporates paid about Rs 55,900 crore in advance tax in the December quarter compared to about Rs 50500 crore during July-September quarter, and about Rs 41,600 crore during the year-ago quarter.
Top 100 firms' advance tax payments were up more than 30 % in the December quarter. The net direct tax receipts, which include corporate tax and income tax paid by individual tax payers grew by about 8.5 % during October-December compared to a year ago.
India's food-price inflation cannot be tackled through monetary and other policy steps, while inflationary expectations will not stay long, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla said on Monday. Earlier on Monday, the Prime Minister's economic advisor C Rangarajan said India's central bank may have to raise the cash reserve ratio (CRR) to drain money from the banking system if prices do not decline in December.
India is battling soaring food prices after a poor monsoon and then flooding in parts of the country hit crops."Unlike previous inflation, this is very sector specific ... It is a very peculiar inflation which needs to be attacked at the level of the sector," said Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor to the finance ministry.
India's central bank governor Duvvuri Subbarao had earlier said that monetary policy is not the right tool to fix supply problems such as food shortages, but added that if not contained soaring food prices would stoke inflationary pressures in the broader economy.
Food prices surged an annual 20 % in early December and rising food prices contributed to a faster-than-expected 4.78 % increase in the wholesale price index in November 2009. Last week, Mukherjee had said containing inflation is high on the government's agenda and it is monitoring the price situation.
Asian stocks rose on Tuesday on course for its first gain in four days, as the weaker yen boosted the earnings outlook for Japanese makers of electronics and cars and after metal prices advanced. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan rose by between 0.36% t o 1.43%. But China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.51%.
Wall Street gained on Monday with the Nasdaq closing at a new 15-month high. Positive earnings, upgrades for Alcoa and Intel and the senate health-care bill advancing triggered gains despite the dollar index gradually gaining traction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 85.25 points, or 0.83% at 10,414.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 11.58 points, or 1.05%, to 1,114.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 25.97 points, or 1.17, to end at 2,237.66, its highest close since September, 2008.
The key benchmark indices drifted lower in a volatile session of trade on Monday despite positive European markets and higher US index futures. The BSE Sensex fell 118.63 points or 0.71% to 16601.20 its lowest closing since 10 November 2009 on that day.
As per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 291.94 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 353.83 crore on Monday.
Grey Market Premium - DB Corp, JSW Energy
| Company Name | Offer Price (Rs.) | Premium (Rs.) |
| D.B. Corp. | 212 (For Retail Investor Rs. 210) | 20 to 21 (High Rs. 28) |
| JSW Energy Ltd. | 100 (For Retail Investor Rs. 95) | 2.50 to 3 (Low Rs. -6/7) |
| Godrej Properties | 490 | 28 to 29 |
| MBL Infra | 165 to 180 | 5.5 to 6.5 |
Sensex may open higher
Headlines for the day
India Inc pays 20% more advance tax on strong showing - Business Line
Mahindra Yueda rolls out plans for China - Business Line
Zee Entertainment mulls ETC Biz recast - DNA Money
TVS Motor plans 200cc motorcycle - Business Standard
WWIL targets townships for HITS expansion - Business Standard
Events for the day
Major corporate action:
Ex-date for dividend of Centrum Capital, Emami, Fedders Lloyd Corporation, GHCL, LGS Global, RR Financial Consultants & Sharon Bio-Medicine.
Ex-date for final dividend of Triveni Engineering & Industries.
Ex-date for Scheme of Arrangement of Emami Ltd & Zandu Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Ex-date for stock split of Kanani Industries from Rs10 per share to Rs5 per share.
Ex-date for consolidation of shares of Firstobject Technologies Ltd
Pre-market report
Global signals
The European stocks were closed strong on Monday as banking stock recovers its recent losses and buying in energy stock. FTSE 100 closed 1.87% higher at 5294.
On Monday, the US markets were closed positive after a healthcare reform bill advanced in the Senate. Nasdaq hitting a 15-month high and closed the day at 2238, 26 points higher.
In today's trade, all the Asian indices are trading with gains except Shanghai Composite that trading marginally lower by 0.12%. At the time of writing this report, SGX Nifty is trading 33 points higher.
Indian markets
On the back of positive & strong signals coming from the global market, the domestic indices are expected to open higher and may remain strong.
Among the local indices, the Nifty could test the 5000-5050 range on the up side, while on the down side it could find support at 4900 and 4920. While the Sensex is likely to get support at 16500 and may face resistance at 17000.
Indian ADR's
Indian ADRs trading on the US bourses showed the mixed trend, among gainers HDFC Bank surged the most with gains of 1.77%. On other hand Tata Communications fell the most by 5.54%
Commodity cues
In the commodity space, wherein the Crude oil prices recorded marginal loss, with the Nymex light crude oil for January series down by $0.81 to settle at $72.55 a barrel.
In the metals space, Comex Gold for February series fell $15.50 to settle at $1096.00 to a troy ounce.
Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities
On December 21, 2009, FIIs were the net sellers of the Indian Stocks in the tune of Rs83.40 crore (with the gross purchase of Rs2234.80 crore and gross sales of Rs2318.20 crore).
While the Domestic mutual funds, on December 17, 2009, were the net seller of the stocks in the tune of Rs27.20 crore (with gross purchase of Rs707.40 crore and gross sales of Rs734.60 crore).
Daily News Roundup - Dec 22 2009
M&M signed a joint venture agreement with Yueda Group, China’s second largest tractor producer, to set up a tractor company with a combined investment of Rs1.8bn. (BS)
Tata Motors plans to roll out hybrid city buses which are aimed at providing eco-friendly transportation solutions. (FE)
Reliance Infrastructure is on track to commission over Rs100bn worth of infrastructure projects in the next seven months. (BS)
TVS Motor plans to launch diesel auto-rickshaws as part of its strategy to grow in the domestic market. (ET)
Nava Bharat Ventures acquired a 65% equity stake in Maamba Collieries Ltd (MCL) of Zambia at a total outlay of US$26mn. (BS)
The Orissa government has granted Prospecting License (PL) in favour of Bhushan Steel over an area of 280.755 hectares spread over Marsuan,Tiriba and Narasinghapur villages in Keonjhar district. (BS)
S Tel, the latest entrant in the Indian cellular market, aims to be present in six telecom circles of the country by the end of 2010. (BS)
Fortis Healthcare, post-acquisition of 10 hospitals from the Wockhardt group, will spend around Rs2.5bn to complete the ongoing hospitals in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. (BL)
Ranbaxy Laboratories plans to market an antihypertensive originally, discovered by Daiichi Sankyo, in six African countries. (BL)
Tata Realty And Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, plans to develop the Rs35bn ‘Ramanujan IT City' in Chennai. (BL)
Aegis Logistics has acquired Shell Gas (LPG) India and expects the whole acquisition process to be completed in the next 90-days. (FE)
Fortis will expand and add 600 beds in the first half of 2010. (FE)
Ansal Properties plans to raise Rs6bn through qualified institutional placement. (ET)
Ranbaxy labs to launch its parent companies anti-hypertensive drug, Olmesartan Medoxomil, in six African countries under the brand name — Olvance. (ET)
Indirect tax receipts for eight months (April-November 2009) dipped 21% to Rs1,458bn. (BS)
Nuclear Power Corporation has projected an investment of Rs10,000bn for nuclear capacity addition of 10,000MW by 2020. (BS)
The advance tax collection from India Inc rose 20% in the first nine months of FY10, compared to the same period last year, with automobiles, consumer goods and metals leading the pack. (BS)
The life insurance industry logged a 21% yoy increase in premium collections during the first seven months of FY10. (BS)
The empowered Group of Ministers decided that auctions for 3G mobile spectrum will take place in January and will be given to four successful bidders excluding BSNL and MTNL. However, all the successful bidders will get 3G spectrum simultaneously only in August 2010. (BL)
The Petroleum Minister has sought oil bonds worth Rs208bn to partially compensate the public sector OMCs for selling cooking fuels below the market price during the three quarters of the current fiscal. (BL)
The government is set to accept the recommendations of a ministerial group and ban FDI in tobacco, dealing a blow to the plans of international tobacco firms that have long eyed a bigger presence in the Indian market. (ET)
The companies are rushing to buy-back FCCBs as deadline set by RBI for repurchase of these securities ends this month. (ET)
Right at start!
Money will come when you are doing the right thing.
The right thing appears to be really on a long holiday. The key indices have gone nowhere in the past 3-4 weeks and the trend has been extremely dull. Traded volume too has tapered off and is likely to remain low in the face of the upcoming holidays.
Thanks to firm global cues, we expect a higher opening and another choppy day. Can’t call it Christmas shopping, though! On the whole, the current lackluster trend is expected to continue. The Nifty will find some support and could surpass the 5000 mark again. The near-term trading range may be between 4900-5100.
Volatility will prevail given the murky outlook and F&O expiry next week. Stock centric action will continue based on the news flow. Short term traders are likely to take profit at every rise. A major break down is ruled out for now but avoid risky bets. Don’t read too much into what goes in the market these days as bulls and bears both seem to be lacking conviction.
Indices in the US and Europe started the week with decent gains, helped by signs of a weakening dollar. Upgrades to Alcoa and Intel boosted US stocks, helping to reverse last week's losses.
OPEC will almost certainly leave its production levels unchanged when it meets later today. Speculation of an impending reversal in monetary cum fiscal stimulus worldwide has increased. This has curbed inflation expectations to some extent and reduced gold's investment appeal.
FIIs were net sellers in the cash segment on Monday at Rs2.92bn on a provisional basis. The local funds were net buyers of Rs3.54bn, according to figures published on the NSE's web site. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net sellers at Rs517.2mn. FIIs were net buyers of Rs834mn in the cash segment on Friday.
US stocks rallied on Monday, pushing the Dow back into positive territory for the month, as investors cheered a combination of analyst upgrades and corporate deal-making.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 85 points, or 0.8%, to end at 10,414.14. The blue-chip average is now up 0.7% for December. The S&P 500 index rose 11 points, or 1.1%, to close at 1,114.05. The Nasdaq Composite index advanced 26 points, or 1.2%, to 2,237.66, its highest level since Sept. 2008.
Aluminum producer Alcoa's shares surged nearly 9% after analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock and the company announced a $10.8 billion joint venture with Saudi Arabia to develop a major mining operation.
Technology stocks advanced after analysts at Barclays Capital upgraded Intel to "overweight." Shares of the chip titan rose 2.4%.
Big health-care companies rose after the US Senate voted to end debate on revisions to a major healthcare reform bill, a key step toward finalizing the controversial legislation.
The healthcare sector was also supported by news that Sanofi-Aventis will buy retail health products maker Chattem for $1.9bn.
Wall Street will have a holiday-shortened week. The stock market will close early on Thursday and will remain shut on Friday for the Christmas holiday. In fact, many market participants will take the entire week off, which means trading volume will be lower.
Many money managers have closed their books. Those that are still trading will probably avoid risky bets. A lot of people have packed their bags for the week and for the year. So, one shouldn't read too much into any of the moves this week.
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis announced plans to acquire Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Chattem, which makes over-the-counter healthcare products like Icy Hot. The deal, which would create the world's fifth-largest consumer healthcare company, is part of an ongoing plan to expand Sanofi's presence in the US market, the company said in a statement.
Elsewhere, mining equipment maker Bucyrus International said on Sunday that it would buy rival Terex Corp. for $1.3 billion in cash.
Also on Sunday, Dutch automaker Spyker said that it had made a new offer to General Motors (GM) for the Swedish car brand Saab. GM had announced on Friday that it would let the car brand die after failing to reach a deal with potential buyers, including Spyker and Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg. Spyker said late on Monday that it would extend the deadline on its offer until further notice. GM says it is considering the offer.
In other corporate news, Citadel Broadcasting Co., the nation's third-largest radio group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday. The company, which has stations in 25 states, listed liabilities of $2.5 billion on assets of $1.4 billion, according to court papers filed in the Southern District of New York.
No economic reports were released on Monday.
The dollar rose against major international rivals.
Crude oil for January delivery fell 89 cents to settle at $72.47 a barrel.
Gold for February delivery fell $15.50 to settle at $1096.00 an ounce.
European stocks climbed, led by energy plays due to the cold weather on both sides of the Atlantic. After finishing with a 0.4% increase last week, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose 1.3% to 249.41, led by oil producers including BP, as oil traded around $75 a barrel.
The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 1.9% to 5,293.99, while the German DAX index added 1.7% to 5,950.53 and the French CAC 40 index added 2.1% to 3,872.06.
After enjoying a stellar 2009, some fatigue has surely set in the Indian equity markets towards the last two weeks of the year. Since we have two back-to-back extended weekends, traders and investors preferred booking profits and offload their positions as the year end gets closer.
Yet again Monday saw an insipid start and after staying lackluster for first half, key indices lost strength led by losses in the Capital Goods, Metals and the Auto stocks.
Technically also daily charts are showing signs of an intermediate correction. The benchmark Nifty index has taken out its 50 Day Moving average which has so far acted as a strong support for the index in the past. In addition, the medium term trend line has also been breached indicating possibility of further downfall.
Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 119 points to end at 16,601 after touching a high of 16,751 and a low of 16,578. The NSE Nifty slipped 35 points to end at 4,953.
In Asia, the Nikkei in Japan was up 0.4%, while Australia's S&P/ASX ended lower by 0.3%. Shanghai SE Composite was up 0.3% and Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1%.
In Europe, stocks were trading in the green. The DAX in Germany was up 0.6% and the CAC 40 index in France was up 0.3%. The FTSE in the UK was up 0.3%.
Coming back to India, among the BSE sectoral indices, the Capital Goods index was the top loser, shedding 1.6%, followed by the Metal index that was down 1.6% and the BSE Auto index was down 1.5%.
Major gainers were BSE Consumer Durables index up 1.3% and BSE Oil & Gas index up 0.2%.
The BSE Mid-Cap index ended marginally lower by 0.5% while the BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.2%.
Among the 30-components of Sensex, 24 stocks ended in the red and 6 ended in the positive terrain. Hindalco, M&M, JP Associates, L&T, Bharti Airtel and DLF were among the top laggards.
On the other hand, among the major gainers were TCS, Reilance Industries, Wipro, NTPC and ICICI Bank.
Outside the frontline indices, the big losers in the broader market were Bajaj Holdings, Essar Oil, Central Bank, Balrampur Chini, IDFC and Asian Paints. On the other hand, gainers included Ackruti City, REI Agro, Titan, Apollo Hospitals and Godrej Cons.
Shares of Prime Focus erased early gains and ended higher by 3% to end at Rs2347 after reports stated that the company earned ~Rs180mn from a deal to create 200 shots of the 1,600-odd shots in Avatar. Fox Star Studios is believed to have spent over Rs8.4bn on special effects.
A significant part of Avatar, which had a budget of over Rs11bn, has been brought to life Prime Focus.
Reports stated that Prime Focus has worked on some box-office blockbusters like New Moon and GI Joe. Almost 80% of New Moon’s special effects were done by the company, added reports.
The scrip opened at Rs235 it touched an intra-day high of Rs252 and a low of Rs233 and recorded volumes of over 0.17mn shares on BSE.
BHEL secured a repeat order worth Rs6.4bn from Adhunik Power and Natural Resources for the main plant package of the second new-rating unit of 270 MW at its upcoming Thermal Power Project (TPP) in Jharkhand.
However, shares of BHEL slipped by 1.5% to end at Rs2282. The scrip opened at Rs2320 it touched an intra-day high of Rs2334 and a low of Rs2267 and recorded volumes of over 83,000 shares on BSE.
Zee Entertainment announced that the Board of Directors will meet on December 23, 2009, to consider a proposal for restructuring of the businesses of ETC Networks Ltd, a Subsidiary of the company.
Shares of Zee Entertainment surged by 4% to Rs262, the scrip opened at Rs248 it touched an intra-day high of Rs263 and a low of Rs248 and recorded volumes of 0.17mn shares on NSE.
Shares of PBA Infrastructure gained by 3.3% to end at Rs70.4 after the company announced that it won a contract worth Rs1.45bn from M/s. Oriental Structural Engineers Pvt. Ltd for 4 Laning of km 0 to km 20 in Nagpur Bypass Section of MH-7
The scrip opened at Rs71 it touched an intra-day high of Rs74 and a low of Rs70 and recorded volumes of over 20,000 shares on BSE.
Shares of ING Vysya Bank advanced by 1.7% to end at Rs267 after ~2.3mn shares, or 1.9% of its equity changed hands in two block deals on the NSE. The scrip opened at Rs292 it touched an intra-day high of Rs312 and a low of Rs291 and recorded volumes of over 2.4mn shares on NSE.
Precious metals lose some sheen
Prices drop on speculation of interest rate hike in medium term
Bullion metal prices fell on Monday, 21 December 2009. Prices fell as traders mulled over the fact that there might be an interest rate hike in the medium term. The relatively strong dollar was also a reason for a drop in prices today.
Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa.
On Monday, gold for February delivery ended at $1,095.4 an ounce, lower by $15.4 (1.4%) an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold fell below the $1,100 level for first time in more than one and half months. Last week, gold shed 1.1%. The metal fell for three straight weeks.
Gold ended November 2009 higher by 13%. Before that, for the third quarter it ended higher by 8.7%. For the second quarter, gold ended higher by 0.5%. The metal had gained 4.3% in the first quarter of this year. On a year to date basis, gold price is higher by 25.2%.
On Monday, December Comex silver futures ended lower by 28.5 cents (1.7%) at $17.035 an ounce. Last week, silver registered marginal fall. The metal has gained 51.3% this year until date.
In the currency market on Monday, the greenback started the day relatively weak with the dollar index trading with a fractional loss after it was down roughly 0.2% earlier this morning. Then, the dollar's move caused a pullback in commodity prices. The dollar index, which weighs the strength of dollar against the basket of six other currencies rose by almost 0.3%. Last week, the dollar index gained almost 1.7%.
In 2008, gold prices ended higher by 5.5%. The dollar index had gained 12% that year.
At the MCX, gold prices for February delivery closed lower by Rs 14 (0.08%) at Rs 16,969 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 16,991 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 16,942 per 10 grams during the day's trading.
At the MCX, silver prices for March delivery closed Rs 24 (0.08%) higher at Rs 27,315/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 27,315/kg and rose to a high of Rs 27,341/Kg during the day's trading.
Copper inches up
Prices go up on strong demand hopes from China
Copper prices once again ended higher at Comex and LME on Monday, 21 December 2009. Prices rose as traders anticipated that the demand for metals would rise in the coming months, especially from China, as the country is targeting an 8% growth in the next couple of years. Prices went up despite the relatively strong dollar.
At USA, copper futures for March delivery ended higher by 2 cents (0.6%) to 3.1585 a pound. Last week, copper remained almost unchanged. Copper ended November 2009 higher by 6.6%. On a year to date basis, copper has climbed 116%.
On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months ended higher by $78 (1.3%) at $6,935.65 a metric ton. On 3 July, 2008, prices had touched an all time intra day high of $8,940.
In the currency market on Monday, the greenback started the day relatively weak with the dollar index trading with a fractional loss after it was down roughly 0.2% earlier this morning. Then, the dollar's move caused a pullback in commodity prices. The dollar index, which weighs the strength of dollar against the basket of six other currencies rose by almost 0.3%. Last week, the dollar index gained almost 1.7%.
The U.S. buys about 13% of the 17 million metric tons of copper sold annually and China buys about 20%.
In FY 2008, copper prices dropped by 54%. Prior to 2008, copper prices ended FY 2007 with a gain of mere 5.5% after a whopping 44% gain in FY 2006. The price of copper gained every year since 2002 as global economic growth boosted demand for the metal used in pipes and wires.
At the MCX, copper for February delivery closed at Rs 324.85/Kg. The closing price was Rs 0.2/Kg (0.06%) higher than previous closing price. Prices rose to a high of Rs 325.2/Kg and fell to a low of Rs 324.1/Kg during the day's trading.
Among other metals traded in the LME on Monday, lead fell marginally to $2,350.5 a ton and zinc gained 1.3% to end at $2,438.3 a ton. Nickel gained 1.4% at $17,340. Aluminium rose 0.5% at $2,249 a ton.
Crude slips gain
Prices drop as dollar heads up and traders anticipate a rate hike
Crude prices ended lower on Monday, 21 December 2009. Prices fell as traders mulled over the fact that there might be an interest rate hike in the medium term. The relatively strong dollar was also a reason for a drop in prices today. There are a plethora of economic reports expected at US market this week which might show that the economy is slowly emerging out of the recession and hence lead to a rate hike.
On Monday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for January delivery closed at $72.47/barrel (lower by $0.89 or 1.2%). Earlier in the day, it was trading higher.
Last week, crude ended higher by almost 5%. Crude ended month of November, higher by 0.4%. It reached a high of $82 earlier in October this year but since then it has been dropping most of the days.
Oil prices had reached a high of $147 on 11 July, 2008 but have dropped almost 50% since then.
Oil prices shot up last Friday, after Iraq said Iranian forces occupied the area around an oil well 280 miles south of Baghdad. The countries have the world's second and third biggest oil reserves in the world.
In the currency market on Monday, the greenback started the day relatively weak with the dollar index trading with a fractional loss after it was down roughly 0.2% earlier this morning. Then, the dollar's move caused a pullback in commodity prices. The dollar index, which weighs the strength of dollar against the basket of six other currencies rose by almost 0.3%. Last week, the dollar index gained almost 1.7%.
OPEC ministers are scheduled to meet this week at Angola and decide on the production quota. Market is anticipating no change in the same.
Last week, in the latest report, OPEC, revised higher its forecast for world oil demand next year by 70,000 barrels a day, to 85.13 million barrels, citing demand from developing countries such as China and India. However, the cartel said the pace of recovery in developed countries, especially in the U.S., remained at risk and could dampen demand.
The cartel also said that the supply of oil from non-OPEC nations will likely expand by 500,000 barrels a day this year, slightly higher than last month's forecast. In November, OPEC crude production averaged 29.1 million barrels a day.
Among other energy products on Monday, January gasoline futures fell 2.6% to $1.8691 a gallon, January heating oil fell 1.1% to $1.9452 a gallon.
Also on Monday, January natural gas dropped 2% to $5.669 per million British thermal units.
Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex.
At the MCX, crude oil for January delivery closed unchanged at Rs 3,504/barrel. Natural gas for December delivery closed higher by Rs 2.7 (1%) at Rs 272.3/mmbtu.
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