|
Markets opened on a positive note as heavyweights bounced back and the
Sensex rallied more than 50 points. Indices soon lost ground and slipped into
the red as selling emerged at higher levels. In the early afternoon trades
indices made another attempt to recover but went down again. Sensex closed
at 6443, down 11 points and the Nifty at 2015, down 11 points. Nifty futures
are quoting at a 3 point premium to the spot index.
US indices
gave a mixed trend yesterday with Dow closing with marginal losses and NASDAQ
marginally in the positive. Oil lost close to 4 per cent and declined below
$54 to a barrel. Indian ADR's continue to bleed with HDFC Bank, Tata Motors,
ICICI Bank Wipro and Satyam all ending up with major losses. MTNL and Dr.
Reddy's were the only ones to post gains. Rumors continue to fly around
about the impending settlement between Ambani brothers. Reliance group stocks
continue to buzz as managements have neither denied nor confirmed the rumors.
Even reports that came late in the afternoon about a delay in settlement did
not affect the stocks much. Reliance Industries, Reliance Capital and IPCL
were all gainers while Reliance Energy ended up with marginal losses. It is
also reported that the exchanges may ask Reliance Industries for clarifications.
A formal denial by the company could take down these stocks and the market
along with them. Tata Steel is planning to increase prices of HR coil
for long term contracts by 20 per cent. The company had kept the prices steady
for the last 6 monts or so even as its competitors increased prices. Tata
Steel also received a stable rating from rating agency S&P for its overseas
debt issue. The stock gained more than a per cent. Apart from Reliance
and Tata Steel, the other gainers among index stocks were SBI and ITC. Jet
Airways posted gains of over a per cent. Among Nifty stocks engineering
major ABB was the major loser with losses of more than 3 per cent. MTNL and
Cipla also lost ground. HDFC and HDFC Bank both continued their down
trend today. Weakness in ADR prices of HDFC Bank may be adding to the sentiment. TCS
was another major loser with losses of more than 2 per cent. Among other IT
stocks, Infosys posted gains while Satyam and Wipro closed with losses. Mid-cap
action Majority of mid-cap stocks continue to lose heavy ground.
Many of the stocks which saw significant gains after the budget have given
up most of their gains. Industrial abrasives manufacturer Carborundum
Universal gained substantially as the company announced a board meeting to
discuss issue of bonus shares. Besides abrasives, the company also has a small
BPO business. The stock gained more than 15 per cent. Subex Systems
announced an order from an African telecom company for its software package.
The order size is not yet made public, though the company says it is the largest
in its history. The stock gained more than 8 per cent on this news but gave
up most of its gains later in the day. Nagarjuna Constructions jumped
more than 7 per cent after it announced a major order received for highway
construction from the NHAI. IDBI and IDBI Bank made smart gains, once
again on rumors about their impending merger. Investors would do well to remember
that though a merger between these two is good, speculating on the merger
ratio and trading on that basis is too risky. Mid-cap steel stocks
were weak once again and some of them lost more than 3 per cent each. The
strong run up in these stocks had encouraged many traders to build huge positions
in these stocks, financed mostly by brokers. The decline in prices has forced
these traders to liquidate their positions thereby putting more pressure on
the stock prices. This is just another reminder to small investors about the
risks involved in going after momentum. Bearings manufacturer SKF India
lost 10 per cent after its Swedish parent announced the floor price for reverse
book building (the parent company buying back shares from other investors)
at Rs150, far below the market price. SKF India stock had run up substantially
on market speculation about a higher price to be offered. A clear statement
from the company earlier would have saved many retail investors a lot of money. McDowell,
Gammon India, Orchid Pharma, HMT, Escorts, etc, were some of the large losers
among mid-cap stocks.  With
four straight days of losses, the market sentiment is very weak. Every attempt
by the indices to stage a rally is meeting stiff resistance. Though a relief
rally is expected, it may not sustain for long. The futures and options expiry
would add to the volatility next week.
*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
| 6,442.87 | -11.59 |
| NIFTY
| 2,015.40 | -11.00 |
Last
Update : 24 March, 2005, 15:54 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name | Open | High | Low | Last
Price | |
I
T C LTD |
1,276.00
|
1,330.00
|
1,276.00
|
1,321.00
| |
RELIANCE*
|
556.00
|
567.90
|
555.50
|
560.10
| |
STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
657.00
|
672.90
|
652.80
|
665.70
| |
TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
411.00
|
416.00
|
407.50
|
413.05
| |
HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
133.95
|
136.75
|
133.50
|
134.55
| |
ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
358.00
|
360.35
|
356.60
|
358.90
| |
GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,234.00
|
1,250.00
|
1,220.00
|
1,227.00
| |
MARUTI
UDYOG |
413.00
|
418.00
|
405.70
|
412.45
| |
ZEE
TELEF LT |
131.80
|
132.50
|
129.00
|
130.15
| |
CIPLA
LTD. |
260.65
|
263.00
|
252.00
|
253.75
| |
HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
716.00
|
718.25
|
687.50
|
691.00
| |
RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
1,080.00
|
1,088.70
|
1,045.25
|
1,053.90
| |
HINDALCO
IN |
1,327.00
|
1,327.00
|
1,300.05
|
1,300.05
| |
GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
414.00
|
417.35
|
402.15
|
404.55
| |
WIPRO
LTD. |
657.05
|
666.00
|
640.15
|
646.45
| |
TATA
MOTORS |
422.70
|
427.95
|
411.30
|
416.10
| |
ONG
CORP LTD |
860.00
|
866.90
|
847.50
|
850.80
| |
HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
317.05
|
321.35
|
307.55
|
311.20
| |
HDFC
BANK LT |
531.55
|
539.80
|
508.00
|
524.90
| |
BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,038.00
| 1,038.00
| 1,010.00
| 1,026.20
| |
RELIANCE
ENR* |
549.90
| 558.00
| 530.10
| 531.95
| |
LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
990.00
| 1,005.00
| 965.10
| 973.50
| |
HEROHONDA
M |
543.00
| 552.00
| 535.00
| 542.70
| |
TATA
POWER |
344.95
| 352.75
| 339.00
| 340.85
| |
SATYAM
COMP |
388.90
| 393.75
| 385.65
| 387.65
| |
BHEL
| 770.00
| 792.00
| 770.00
| 780.70
| |
BHARTI
TELE |
214.00
| 214.90
| 211.75
| 213.55
| |
DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
759.00
| 760.00
| 741.00
| 751.05
| |
INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
2,142.25
| 2,188.00
| 2,142.25
| 2,159.05
| |
ICICI
BANK |
392.45
| 394.95
| 379.00
| 390.55
| Last
Update : 24 March, 2005, 16:00PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol | Open | High | Low | Last
Price | |
RELIANCE
|
555.00
|
567.40
|
555.00
|
560.00
| |
SBIN
|
662.00
|
672.40
|
651.70
|
664.40
| |
TISCO
|
410.00
|
415.45
|
407.50
|
412.30
| |
INFOSYSTCH
|
2170.00
|
2188.50
|
2150.00
|
2159.10
| |
ONGC
|
861.60
|
865.00
|
846.30
|
850.85
| |
MARUTI
|
414.00
|
418.35
|
405.00
|
411.75
| |
TATAMOTORS
|
426.00
|
429.90
|
410.50
|
416.10
| |
TCS
|
1430.00
|
1438.00
|
1377.65
|
1384.35
| |
SATYAMCOMP
|
390.00
|
393.40
|
385.90
|
387.50
| |
SAIL
|
64.10
|
65.35
|
62.80
|
63.80
| |
M&M
|
488.00
|
497.00
|
481.10
|
488.00
| |
PNB
|
411.60
|
416.70
|
404.10
|
406.90
| |
RANBAXY
|
1085.00
|
1088.80
|
1047.10
|
1055.20
| |
HDFC
|
712.00
|
718.00
|
687.00
|
691.05
| |
ORIENTBANK
|
316.80
|
319.70
|
306.00
|
313.90
| |
HINDPETRO
|
317.90
|
321.40
|
307.10
|
311.10
| |
ITC
|
1289.00
|
1332.00
|
1285.00
|
1321.90
| |
BHEL
|
778.50
|
798.90
|
773.55
|
780.10
| |
BHARTI
|
214.00
|
215.00
|
210.00
|
212.10
| |
ICICIBANK
|
392.00
|
394.95
|
377.00
|
390.35
| |
GAIL
|
217.40
|
220.90
|
215.00
|
217.70
| |
WIPRO
|
660.00
|
665.00
|
640.25
|
645.40
| |
ACC
|
357.00
|
362.50
|
356.50
|
359.15
| |
DRREDDY
|
753.00
|
759.70
|
740.30
|
751.25
| |
CIPLA
|
260.35
|
263.00
|
251.60
|
253.35
| |
BPCL
|
371.00
|
380.90
|
369.50
|
373.05
| |
HINDLEVER
|
134.00
|
137.50
|
134.00
|
134.70
| |
LT
|
990.00
|
1006.90
|
965.25
|
971.60
| |
HDFCBANK
|
604.00
|
604.00
|
508.00
|
519.45
| |
IPCL
|
168.90
|
172.50
|
167.05
|
168.10
| |
REL
|
544.00
|
558.00
|
528.15
|
531.95
| |
TATAPOWER
|
345.00
|
352.90
|
337.60
|
340.15
| |
HINDALC0
|
1320.00
|
1326.00
|
1300.00
|
1313.50
| |
MTNL
|
125.90
|
127.00
|
121.00
|
121.55
| |
ZEETELE
|
131.45
|
132.50
|
128.35
|
130.30
| |
GRASIM
|
1231.50
|
1249.00
|
1215.30
|
1231.80
| |
GUJAMBCEM
|
410.00
|
416.95
|
402.00
|
404.80
| |
HCLTECH
|
368.90
|
368.90
|
336.55
|
349.55
| |
SCI
|
155.00
|
158.00
|
151.00
|
152.35
| |
HERO
HONDA |
554.00
|
554.00
|
533.90
|
544.35
| |
TATATEA
|
515.00
|
518.00
|
506.35
|
508.80
| |
NATIONALUM
|
173.00
|
173.00
|
168.00
|
169.65
| |
BAJAJAUTO
|
1027.05
|
1041.80
|
1011.50
|
1020.50
| |
ABB
|
1198.80
|
1198.80
|
1070.00
|
1125.00
| |
SUNPHARMA
|
477.00
|
480.00
|
468.05
|
473.35
| |
GLAXO
|
695.00
|
705.00
|
692.45
|
698.50
| |
VSNL
|
192.00
|
193.00
|
184.00
|
184.90
| |
TATACHEM
|
148.75
|
151.95
|
146.25
|
147.10
| |
DABUR
|
112.40
|
115.00
|
109.05
|
110.05
| |
COLGATE
|
173.00
|
174.80
|
171.30
|
171.95
|
Last
Update : 24 March, 2005, 16:00PM
|
