|
Market was expected to remain weak following the down trend in global
markets. The indices tried to remain sideways after the weak opening, but
gave up towards the close to end with substantial losses. Sensex closed at
6670, down 77points and the Nifty at 2099, down 27 points. The Nifty futures
discount to the spot index narrowed to 5 points.
Oil
was on fire yesterday on the back of lower than expected inventory levels
of gasoline and distillates in US. NYMEX Crude touched an all time high of
$56.46 to a barrel as statements from OPEC about increasing output by 500,000
barrels per day failed to cool the market. Crude futures are quoting above
the $57-mark and analysts predict $60 levels in the near future. As
can be expected US markets took a nose dive which was further worsened by
lower guidance from General Motors. The Dow closed mpre than a percentage
down while NASDAQ lost close to a per cent. Indian ADR's were no exception
with HDFC Bank losing more than 3 per cent. Infosys and Dr. Reddy's were the
only winners while ICICI Bank and Tata Motors remained flat. European
Cement major Holcim, the second largest in the world after French cement company
Lafarge, received SEBI approval for its open offer for ACC. The open offer
is at Rs370 per share and is expected to go through as domestic institutions
led by LIC are favorably inclined to accepting the offer. The stock which
rallied in the morning on hearing the news closed lower. Markets
took note of the advance tax payments by corporates as the figures would give
an indication of the estimated profits. Most companies have paid higher taxes
as compared to last year confirming the belief that corporate profitability
will continue to remain robust. SBI and L&T were among the few who paid
lower taxes. Tata
Motors signed the deal to acquire 21 per cent of Spanish bus manufacturer
Hispano Carrocera. Tata Motors, which has an option to buy the balance 79
per cent, has appointed one of its directors as the chairman of the Spanish
company. The Spanish company has assembling units in Spain as well as Morocco
which will give Tata Motors a toehold in the West European as well as North
African markets. It is already a major player in the South African market.
The Indian company also plans to launch buses in the domestic market using
technology from its new partner. The
selling was broad based with only two stocks among the 30 Sensex stocks, ICICI
Bank and ONGC, managing positive closing. Four stocks on the Nifty basket,
ICICI Bank, Dabur, ONGC and TCS managed positive closing. Banking
stocks were the major losers with Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce
and HDFC Bank losing substantially. SAIL and Nalco from the metals space as
well as Maruti and M&M from the auto space were the other major losers.
Bharti continue to lose ground with losses of more than 5 per cent for the
day. Mid-cap
action
Television
software house UTV made its debut on the bourses today. The scrip, issued
at Rs130 per share, opened at Rs165 on the BSE. The IPO was heavily over subscribed
and the company is using the proceeds to beef up its production facilities
as well as launch a children's entertainment channel. Max
India was a major winner among mid-caps as RBI has allowed increased FII investment
levels in the company. Max, which is into healthcare services, has attracted
lot of FII interest. Warburg Pincus, one of the initial investors in Bharti
Tele, has picked up a decent stake. Though the current financials of the company
are not encouraging, it has promoted joint ventures with foreign partners
in fast growing sectors like insurance. The stock gained close to 10 per cent. Glenmark
Pharmaceuticals announced a brand acquisition in Brazil for more than $4 million.
Glenmark is one of the most promising mid-size pharma companies with considerable
success in licensing out molecules to foreign drug companies. United
Breweries gained on reports that Scottish & Newcastle has received government
permission to increase its stake in UB to 37.5 per cent. Scottish & Newcastle
is a strategic partner of UB Group and one of the largest brewery groups in
the world. Construction
company JMC Projects gained on announcement of a rights issue at a discount
to current prices. Construction stocks continue to buzz on order wins and
fresh capital issues. Gammon India continued to seek higher ground with yet
another day on upper circuit of 5 per cent. Small
steel stocks saw substantial losses today after the meteoric rise over the
last few weeks. Most mid-cap stocks lost heavily as traders cut their short
term positions. From
its all time high, Sensex has now corrected close to 280 points which is a
good enough correction under normal conditions.  But
the weakness in the last half hour of trade today which pushed the Nifty below
2100 level is very negative and may indicate a deeper correction in store.
*Disclaimer:
The author doesn't 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.
Other
articles by Rex Mathew List
of general reports on markets List
of general reports on finance Market:
Indices
National
Markets
Gain (+) / Loss (-)
|
SENSEX
|
6,646.53 |
-100.35 |
| NIFTY
|
2,090.90 |
-34.65 |
Last
Update : 17 March, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
910.00
|
919.40
|
900.25
|
912.85 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
400.50
|
405.00
|
397.00
|
401.30 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
207.50
|
207.50
|
195.80
|
196.50 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
575.10
|
589.90
|
571.00
|
572.65 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
550.00
|
550.00
|
536.05
|
536.15 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
447.00
|
449.00
|
432.70
|
436.25 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
426.90
|
430.90
|
415.70
|
416.60 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,445.00
|
1,447.00
|
1,406.10
|
1,407.00 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,340.00
|
1,340.00
|
1,301.00
|
1,306.30 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
337.50
|
337.50
|
329.95
|
331.35 |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
138.00
|
138.00
|
133.00
|
133.80 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
1,069.95
|
1,070.00
|
1,042.10
|
1,045.05 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
440.25
|
440.25
|
427.10
|
431.05 |
| RELIANCE*
|
574.00
|
574.00
|
558.60
|
561.95 |
| BHEL
|
795.35
|
801.95
|
775.05
|
782.40 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
754.50
|
757.90
|
745.00
|
745.00 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
136.20
|
140.00
|
133.40
|
133.90 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
1,052.00
|
1,061.70
|
1,040.00
|
1,042.15 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,095.00
|
1,099.00
|
1,070.25
|
1,085.00 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
538.00
|
546.70
|
530.05
|
533.40 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
455.00
|
457.50
|
451.15
|
453.20 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
406.00
|
406.50
|
398.00
|
399.70 |
| ACC |
|
|
|
359.05 |
| Cipla |
|
|
|
281.85 |
| HDFC |
|
|
|
781.05 |
| Infosys
Technologies |
|
|
|
401.30 |
| ITC |
|
|
|
1,333.40 |
| State
Bank Of India |
|
|
|
726.45 |
| Tata
Power |
|
|
|
378.20 |
| Wipro |
|
|
|
679.75 |
Last
Update : 17 March, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| RELIANCE
|
569.00
|
574.80
|
558.25
|
559.40 |
| TISCO
|
439.00
|
440.00
|
427.00
|
428.05 |
| SBIN
|
729.90
|
732.40
|
718.00
|
718.00 |
| ONGC
|
910.00
|
919.40
|
902.00
|
908.00 |
| SAIL |
68.10 |
68.30
|
64.10
|
64.75 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
402.00
|
406.40
|
398.00
|
400.00 |
| TCS
|
1448.00
|
1473.70
|
1440.00
|
1454.90 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
2195.00
|
2203.95
|
2171.10
|
2175.00 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
458.80
|
458.80
|
451.30
|
454.00 |
| PNB
|
471.80
|
474.85
|
434.00
|
434.20 |
| MARUTI
|
449.00
|
449.00
|
433.05
|
434.00 |
| ACC
|
364.00
|
366.00
|
358.00
|
358.40 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
357.40
|
357.40
|
335.50
|
337.00 |
| BHARTI
|
209.90
|
209.90
|
197.00
|
198.00 |
| ITC
|
1325.05
|
1348.50
|
1325.05
|
1335.00 |
| HINDPETRO
|
339.00
|
339.00
|
330.10
|
332.50 |
| GAIL
|
237.00
|
237.00
|
229.40
|
230.40 |
| ICICIBANK
|
400.00
|
405.00
|
397.00
|
400.35 |
| BHEL
|
799.00
|
802.00
|
777.00
|
780.10 |
| HCLTECH
|
367.00
|
375.75
|
362.70
|
365.00 |
| BPCL
|
387.80
|
391.90
|
384.30
|
386.00 |
| HDFCBANK
|
593.00
|
593.00
|
571.00
|
571.25 |
| M&M
|
531.65
|
531.65
|
514.00
|
516.90 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
430.00
|
430.85
|
417.00
|
418.00 |
| WIPRO
|
680.00
|
688.75
|
676.10
|
678.00 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1090.00
|
1098.00
|
1076.10
|
1080.80 |
| HDFC
|
783.00
|
785.00
|
777.25
|
780.70 |
| GRASIM
|
1340.00
|
1340.00
|
1300.15
|
1302.00 |
| LT
|
1090.00
|
1090.00
|
1043.10
|
1046.00 |
| CIPLA
|
282.00
|
288.00
|
280.10
|
282.00 |
| RANBAXY
|
1042.00
|
1061.80
|
1042.00
|
1047.90 |
| IPCL
|
175.25
|
180.50
|
175.25
|
176.05 |
| TATAPOWER
|
380.00
|
384.30
|
376.25
|
377.50 |
| HINDLEVER
|
136.00
|
136.00
|
133.25
|
133.45 |
| NATIONALUM
|
190.10
|
194.00
|
181.10
|
181.10 |
| HEROHONDA
|
554.00
|
554.00
|
536.00
|
537.00 |
| ZEETELE
|
137.90
|
137.90
|
133.20
|
133.25 |
| HINDALC0
|
1440.00
|
1448.30
|
1410.00
|
1413.50 |
| REL
|
539.00
|
545.00
|
531.15
|
532.00 |
| TATATEA
|
520.00
|
531.90
|
517.00
|
518.00 |
| DRREDDY
|
754.00
|
757.00
|
742.50
|
745.00 |
| DABUR
|
120.00
|
123.60
|
119.75
|
120.50 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
491.85
|
492.00
|
476.00
|
483.50 |
| TATACHEM
|
154.95
|
156.00
|
152.00
|
152.60 |
| SCI
|
165.00
|
165.00
|
160.15
|
161.00 |
| VSNL
|
205.00
|
205.00
|
198.00
|
199.00 |
| GLAXO
|
750.00
|
752.00
|
728.00
|
730.00 |
| ABB
|
1229.90
|
1229.90
|
1203.00
|
1206.10 |
| COLGATE
|
180.50
|
181.40
|
178.00
|
179.00 |
Last
Update : 17 March, 2005, 16:04PM
| 
