Yet another big result day with the largest private sector company Reliance Industries announcing its results. Great numbers from the company failed to strengthen the markets as controversies surrounding the Reliance group led to some selling by institutional investors.

Market weakness in the morning came mostly from the frontline technology companies. Led by Infosys, all the major software stocks lost ground in early trades. The fall was triggered by the large sell off in Infosys ADR yesterday at the NASDAQ.

Old economy stocks, especially Reliance, held the markets from further decline till late in the afternoon. When it looked as if the indices would close without further damage, a sudden bout of selling in heavyweights pulled them down.

Sensex closed at 6279, down 61 points and the Nifty at 1935, down 22 points. Nifty April futures discount to the spot index went up marginally to 8 points from Teusday's 7 points.

Among Nifty stocks, HLL, Cipla and Bajaj Auto were the major percentage gainers while ICICI Bank, MTNL and IPCL were the major losers.

Reliance Industries came out with better than expected results. After IPCL's strong results yesterday, the markets were almost expecting an excellent showing by the petrochemical and refinery major.

The Reliance stock opened firm in the morning in anticipation of the results. It held firm after the results were announced as they were above expectations. However, the last half hour of trade saw some heavy selling in the stock. It lost all of its morning gains rapidly and slipped deep into the red.

The continuing public spat within the promoter family took much of the sheen out of the results. Anil Ambani, on his way to the board meeting, was very critical of the functioning of the Reliance board of directors. He claimed his objections to certain decisions were completely ignored and he now feels like a minority shareholder rather than a promoter.

This public outburst by Anil Ambani culminated in his refusal to sign the financial statements of the company as vice chairman and managing director. He claims sufficient details were not provided and the disclosures were not adequate. Not many are clear what exactly is going on in Reliance companies these days.

In the morning there were reports that the IPCL board would invite Anil Ambani to rejoin the board amid all the controversy surrounding his earlier resignation and its acceptance by the company. Anil Ambani claims he is yet to receive any formal communication from the company, either about the acceptance of his resignation or on the invitation to rejoin.

There are reports in the Italian print media about a possible tie up between Fiat and Tata Motors. As per the reports, discussions between the companies started after the Geneva motor show. They further state that the possible tie up would cover passenger cars, commercial vehicles and farm equipment.

Bajaj Auto has received the Pakistan government's clearance for its tie up with a local business house to sell bikes in that country. Pakistan has a much smaller market for two-wheelers when compared to India and the company expects to export between 50,000 to 100,000 bikes over the next few years.

Jet Airways was one of the biggest losers of the day with the stock losing over 4 per cent towards closing. Some analysts are linking this to the massive expansion plans of Air India. As reported in the media, Air India has approved the proposal to purchase 50 long range aircraft from Boeing.

Arvind Mills, one of the country's largest textile and garment manufacturers, reported good results today. The company has benefited from lower cotton prices and better demand for denim during last year. The company expects demand to remain robust in the near future. After gaining on announcement of results the stock closed lower.

Mid-cap action

Gokaldas Exports, the country's largest exporter of garments, made its debut on the stock exchanges after its successful IPO. Issued at Rs425 per share, the stock opened at Rs500 on the NSE and closed at Rs630. After the disappointing listing by some of the recently concluded IPO's, Gokaldas with a listing gain of over 48 per cent on its first day stands out.

Construction company IVRCL is taking over engineering company Hindustan Dorr-Oliver. Dorr-Oliver was part of the Dubai-based Jumbo group belonging to the Chabrias. IVRCL will be making an open offer for Hindustan Dorr-Oliver shares as per the take over code.

Indian Overseas Bank shot up over 5 per cent after the bank reported excellent results for the quarter ended March 2005. Profits have doubled as compared to the same quarter of previous year.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, which has announced a series of tie-ups with foreign drug firms for out licensing its molecules, announced very good results for the quarter ended March 2005. The company expects overseas sales to be the main growth driver going forward while it expects modest growth in domestic business as well. The stock closed lower.

Eveready Industries re-listed on the bourses after its restructuring exercise. The stock opened at Rs75 and closed at Rs84.8 after hitting a high of Rs98.4. As per media reports, the company has valued the Eveready brand at over Rs600 crore.

BPL Limited continued to gain strength after the Kerala High Court approved its restructuring plans. The approval will enable the company to hive off its television business into a joint venture with Sanyo of Japan. The company will also be able to go ahead with the corporate debt restructuring package which is being discussed with its lenders.

Among mid-cap stocks Shreyas Shipping, Visaka Industries and BPL Limited were the significant percentage gainers.

Jindal Photofilms, RS Software and Carborundum Universal were among the major mid-cap losers.

*Disclaimer: The author does not have any position in the stocks specifically mentioned above at the time of writing this article. This analysis / report is only for the purpose of information and is not an investment advice. Readers are advised to consult a certified financial advisor before taking any investment decisions. While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in the content the author or publisher shall not be held responsible for any loss caused to any person whatsoever.