domain-b.com : Indices maintain up trend as corporate results excite

Markets opened on a very positive note, continuing the momentum from yesterday's huge rally. Recovery in US markets helped sustain the sentiment and major corporate results announced today were above expectations.

The Sensex crossed the 9550 mark in early trades, a gain of over 100 points from yesterday's closing levels. Selling pressure saw both the Sensex and Nifty paring most of their gains by noon.

Fresh buying in heavyweights like ONGC, HDFC, Maruti and ITC helped the indices to start a fresh rally in the afternoon. The up trend continued till the close of the day and the indices closed with healthy gains.

ABB was the biggest gainer among Nifty stocks as capital goods stocks attracted heavy buying interest on expectations of strong results. Siemens surged over 9 per cent after the company said its board would meet next week to consider a stock split. BHEL gained nearly 3.5 per cent.

L&T came under selling pressure and closed nearly 2 per cent lower after yesterday's spectacular rise.

Auto stocks had a fantastic day following encouraging results from Maruti. The stock closed nearly 7 per cent higher, making it the second best performer among Nifty stocks. Tata Motors gained over 3 per cent while Bajaj Auto closed nearly 2 per cent higher.

ONGC surged ahead today and was trading higher by almost 5 per cent at one point before closing over 3.5 per cent higher.

HCL technologies, ITC and BPCL were the other major gainers among index stocks.

Jet Airways lost 2 per cent as a section of analysts believe that the price paid by the company for Air Sahara is high.

Glaxo, Ranbaxy and Shipping Corp were the other major losers among frontline stocks.

Sensex closed at 9521, a gain of 71 points, and the Nifty at 2901, higher by 30 points. Nifty January futures closed at a discount of 7 points to the spot index.

US indices recovered yesterday after another set of technology numbers helped revive optimism about corporate profit growth. The quarterly numbers from ebay and AMD were better than expectations and helped erase the disappointment over Intel and Yahoo results announced on Wednesday.

The Dow closed one-quarter of a per cent higher while the S&P 500 index added more than 0.5 per cent. NASDAQ regained all the losses from Wednesday and closed one per cent higher.

Crude prices were on the boil once again yesterday on worries of fresh threats from terrorist network Al Qaeda. Concerns about supply disruptions were strong enough for the markets to ignore a rise in US oil inventory. February crude oil futures on the NYMEX closed at $66.83 per barrel yesterday. The commodity is trading well above the $67 mark in early European trades today.

December quarter results announced by ICICI Bank were better than consensus analyst estimates. Net profits increased 23.64 per cent to Rs640.08 crore as compared to Rs517.68 crore for the same quarter of previous year.

Interest income of ICICI Bank increased 50.67 per cent during the December quarter to Rs3,583.61 crore as compared to Rs2,378.36 crore. Treasury and fee income rose 32.38 per cent to Rs1.179.17 crore from Rs890.73 crore.

Maruti announced better than expected results for the December quarter. Net profits increased 41.45 per cent to Rs339.01 crore as compared to Rs239.66 crore for the prior year quarter. Net sales were higher by 7.8 per cent at Rs3,114.17 crore. Other income declined 16.38 per cent to Rs106.62 crore from Rs127.51 crore.

Total vehicle sales by Maruti during the latest quarter were higher by 7 per cent as compared to the same period of last year. The company said it has so far sold 40,000 units of newly launched premium hatchback model Swift. The company benefited from better cost management and higher price realisation during the quarter.

ITC has reported a net profit of Rs536.83 crore for the December quarter as compared to Rs448.94 crore for the prior year quarter. Total revenues for the quarter were at Rs2,604.92 crore as against Rs1,846.4 crore.

Satyam Computer has reported a sequential revenue growth of 9.43 per cent during the December quarter. Operating revenues for the quarter were at Rs1,223.63 crore as compared to Rs1,117.27 crore for the September quarter. Net profits for the quarter were at Rs493.08 crore, including a one-time income, as compared to Rs250.73 crore for the September quarter.

Satyam sold its entire balance stake in internet services company Sify during the quarter. The company realised a net income of Rs262.83 crore from the transaction which is reflected in the sharp jump in other income.

Satyam added more than 30 new clients and over 900 new employees on a net basis during the quarter. The company said the higher operating margins achieved during the quarter are sustainable. The company management has once again denied that talks were held with IBM for a stake sale.

Wipro is planning a 250-seat customer contact centre in Romania. Such a centre would help the company in targeting more clients in mainland Europe.

Mid-Cap Action

Mid-caps also maintained the uptrend today as stocks of companies which announced good results received buying support. Sugar stocks continued to surge today as well with some of them locked in upper circuits. The CNX Mid-Cap index gained 39 points and closed the day at 4224.

Sugar major Bajaj Hindustan has reported a net profit of Rs24.24 crore for the December quarter as compared to Rs10.19 crore for the prior year quarter. Total revenues for the quarter were higher at Rs293.9 crore as against Rs121.33 crore.

The board of Bajaj Hindustan has approved plans to set up a new sugar mill with a crushing capacity of 5,000 tonnes per day along with a 10 MW co-generation power plant. The company would also increase its power generation capacity by 120 MW to 270 MW.

Adlabs is planning to expand its multiplex network in Punjab. The company is considering movie and food complexes in most major cities of Punjab over the next few years.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that Reliance Capital is negotiating for a large stake in privately held courier company DTDC.

LML Limited, JB Chemicals and KRBL were among the significant mid-cap gainers on the NSE.

IPCA Lab, Avaya Global and Nicholas Piramal were among the significant mid-cap losers on the NSE.

*Disclaimer:The author may have positions in some of 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.

Market Counters
Figures in Rupees

BSE 30

Scrip Name Open High Low Last Price

ACC 548.15 554.80 544.25 547.35

Bajaj Auto 2,047.50 2,080.00 2,042.30 2,071.85

Bharti Tele 346.60 349.80 338.20 342.20

BHEL 1,545.00 1,598.00 1,517.00 1,581.35

Cipla 443.00 443.00 436.25 440.00

Dr Reddys Lab 1,038.95 1,043.95 1,025.35 1,028.45

Grasim Indus 1,435.00 1,455.00 1,425.00 1,436.40

Guj Ambuja 90.95 92.00 89.90 90.10

HDFC Ltd 1,185.05 1,258.00 1,185.05 1,250.20

HDFC Bank Ltd 740.00 743.95 722.00 725.10

Hero Honda 849.30 852.00 841.00 847.10

Hindalco 159.25 160.00 156.10 157.90

HLL 188.80 189.80 185.40 186.05

ICICI Bank 571.00 583.00 570.00 579.75

Infosys 2,850.00 2,865.00 2,800.00 2,811.15

ITC 145.00 147.50 143.90 147.00

L&T 1,910.00 1,925.00 1,859.00 1,868.65

Maruti 665.00 711.85 662.25 707.35

NTPC 114.00 114.25 112.25 112.45

ONGC 1,203.00 1,275.00 1,202.25 1,245.85

Ranbaxy 390.00 393.90 381.05 382.55

Rel Energy 628.50 700.60 622.00 626.35

Reliance 705.00 709.00 702.00 703.35

Satyam 757.00 767.90 738.30 743.35

SBI 914.70 919.00 902.10 906.20

Tata Motors 648.00 664.30 641.00 659.40

Tata Power 454.90 457.50 451.25 452.80

Tata Steel 361.55 368.40 360.60 362.55

TCS 1,660.00 1,669.90 1,636.00 1,641.15

Wipro 502.00 507.00 493.00 495.90
Last Update : 20 January, 2006 16:02 PM

S&P CNX Nifty

Symbol Open High Low Last Price

HDFC 1198.00 1256.10 1193.60 1250.50

SATYAMCOMP 755.00 798.90 739.10 744.90

RELIANCE 707.00 709.40 702.00 704.20

MARUTI 669.75 712.00 645.00 706.30

INFOSYSTCH 2845.00 2865.00 2802.00 2813.60

ONGC 1212.70 1276.00 1207.00 1245.75

SBIN 912.50 916.70 902.55 906.85

TATASTEEL 363.00 368.75 360.50 362.15

ICICIBANK 585.00 585.00 570.10 579.50

WIPRO 498.00 548.00 495.65 498.75

HCLTECH 598.90 618.00 596.00 605.05

ITC 144.25 147.50 143.80 147.05

LT 1915.00 1925.00 1862.00 1868.95

VSNL 383.70 384.90 376.10 381.95

TATAMOTORS 646.00 664.75 640.50 660.90

TCS 1655.00 1669.85 1635.00 1644.00

BHEL 1534.00 1599.00 1518.00 1581.00

JETAIRWAYS 1169.80 1189.00 1121.15 1126.25

HINDALC0 159.25 160.00 156.05 158.10

REL 625.00 636.90 622.00 626.90

IPCL 258.90 262.25 255.05 256.35

M&M 523.00 532.00 517.00 525.05

PNB 452.00 456.00 447.15 449.45

HDFCBANK 730.50 744.00 722.10 725.15

BAJAJAUTO 2042.00 2080.00 2041.00 2072.80

ACC 550.50 555.00 544.65 547.00

RANBAXY 390.00 393.90 381.50 382.85

GUJAMBCEM 90.80 92.00 89.80 90.10

SAIL 52.80 53.40 52.05 52.85

ABB 2081.00 2274.00 2081.00 2251.95

GRASIM 1460.00 1460.00 1430.10 1436.55

BHARTI 341.00 349.00 341.00 344.35

MTNL 142.80 144.90 142.00 143.50

BPCL 435.00 443.00 428.00 439.40

GAIL 280.00 282.50 277.15 280.95

DABUR 109.95 111.25 108.10 109.20

CIPLA 439.00 443.00 437.15 439.70

HEROHONDA 843.00 851.90 841.00 848.15

TATACHEM 247.50 249.80 243.00 244.45

HINDLEVER 188.50 189.00 185.15 186.40

ORIENTBANK 256.20 261.00 255.50 258.90

ZEETELE 160.50 160.90 157.15 159.10

DRREDDY 1005.00 1044.00 1005.00 1031.00

TATAPOWER 454.40 457.00 450.00 452.30

HINDPETRO 319.00 320.00 316.00 317.00

NATIONALUM 241.00 242.00 236.90 237.85

GLAXO 1222.10 1238.90 1202.60 1206.00

SUNPHARMA 677.00 678.00 663.05 669.90

TATATEA 941.00 948.95 933.10 937.35

SCI 159.90 159.90 156.00 156.90
Last Update : 20 January, 2006 16:00PM