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Fortunately the massive earthquake off the Indonesian coast yesterday
did not result in a tsunami, yet a tsunami of sorts hit the Asian markets,
which sank without exception. The Indian market was one of the largest losers
in the region with losses of more than two per cent. Yesterday's pull back
rally was the perfect trap for all those optimists who expected the market
to recover.
Such
was the fall today that not even a single stock, in the Sensex pack of 30,
was trading in the positive territory early in the afternoon. Towards close
two stocks from the Sensex (HDFC Bank and Bajaj Auto) and four stocks in the
Nifty pack (Colgate, HDFC Bank, GSK Pharma and Sun Pharma) closed with marginal
gains. The Sensex closed at 6368, down 143 points and the Nifty at 1984, down
46 points. The
US markets closed on a positive note yesterday even after the news of the
earthquake came out. Declining crude prices, news of a large takeover and
a technically oversold market led to the positive sentiment. Oil futures fell
more than one percent to $54.05 as traders booked profit on easing concerns
about lower inventories and supply disruptions. Most
Indian ADR's had a bad day with MTNL, VSNL and ICICI Bank all losing more
than two per cent each. Infosys and Tata Motors also registered losses while
Satyam, Wipro and Dr. Reddy's closed with gains. Foreign
brokerage firm Morgan Stanley says that Indian corporates would find it increasingly
difficult to maintain profitability next year as input costs are rising. It
further says a possible rate hike and declining inflows would lead to underperformance
by the Indian market as compared to its Asian peers. The
Finance Minister says high crude prices could pull down GDP growth rates by
half a percent. He is confident though that the country will be able to manage
and added that the current rise is unjustified. New
shares of Punjab National Bank allotted in the recent public issue were admitted
for trading today. By afternoon the stock declined below its issue price of
Rs390. The stock had seen a crazy run up to over Rs500 before the issue as
traders took advantage of the arbitrage opportunity between the cash and futures
markets. Investors who were allotted PNB shares in the recent issue would
do well not to panic and hold on. For
those who were running after PSU bank stocks during the first half of this
month, the PNB experience should be an eye opener. The reason given for the
huge run up of these stocks was that fresh public issues would lead to a re-rating!
How a fresh supply of shares in the market could lead to a re-rating, when
it should be doing exactly the opposite, is a theory that nobody cared to
question in the frenzy and now a price is being paid for that. Maruti
has indicated that it may raise prices shortly. Auto companies are facing
considerable pressure on input costs as metal prices continue to rise. However,
they are not able to pass on the additional costs to customers as demand growth
has slowed down. The stock closed down two per cent. Other auto stocks Tata
Motors and M&M also lost ground. Jet
Airways is expected to announce its services to Far East destinations shortly.
The company is reportedly negotiating with some foreign airlines for lease
of wide bodied aircraft. The stock closed two per cent lower. The
super heavyweights, ONGC and Reliance, both lost more than three per cent
each. Among the tech pack Infosys, Satyam and TCS were major losers while
Wipro closed on a flat note. Banking
stocks lost considerable ground led by SBI. ICICI Bank was another loser while
HDFC Bank managed to close in the positive. Housing finance company HDFC lost
close to four per cent. Other
major losers among frontline stocks were Tata Steel, Tata Power, Hero Honda,
ITC, BPCL and L&T. Mid-cap
action
Mid-caps were the
worst hit in today's fall. There were many stocks with losses upwards of five
per cent, many of them stars of the post budget rally. The
Shipping Corporation stock opened firm in the morning on reports that the
finance ministry is planning to disinvest up to 15 per cent in the company.
The stock declined in afternoon trades and closed with considerable loss. Mid-cap
pharma company Alembic surged on reports that US based mega mutual fund Fidelity
has picked up a five per cent stake in the company. Fidelity is known for
its long term value strategy and has recently entered the domestic mutual
fund business. Gujarat
NRE Coke has announced plans to set up its third plant in the state of Karnataka.
The stock which had seen some recovery yesterday slid again in today's trade. Paper
manufacturer Bilt was one of the few mid-cap stocks which managed to close
with good gains today. What
started off as a correction has become a major slide with both indices losing
more than eight per cent from their recent peaks.  With
doubts rising about sustainability of corporate profitability, the current
weakness could extend for a few months. A pull back could be expected in the
next two days.
*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
|
6,367.86
|
-142.88
|
| NIFTY
|
1,983.85
|
-45.60
|
Last
Update : 29 March, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
530.00
|
539.95
|
525.00
|
536.60 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,015.05
|
1,026.50
|
1,015.00
|
1,019.90 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
777.25
|
779.00
|
737.10
|
739.55 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
420.20
|
420.20
|
398.50
|
401.40 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
540.10
|
543.10
|
505.00
|
519.50 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
667.10
|
667.10
|
637.00
|
640.90 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
311.25
|
312.75
|
298.00
|
300.10 |
| TATA
POWER |
351.10
|
351.10
|
335.15
|
339.70 |
| RELIANCE*
|
569.00
|
569.00
|
546.55
|
548.95 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
862.00
|
862.00
|
829.00
|
833.70 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,325.00
|
1,325.00
|
1,266.05
|
1,275.75 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
711.90
|
712.50
|
679.20
|
688.65 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
1,006.95
|
1,015.00
|
974.10
|
982.15 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
258.00
|
258.45
|
248.00
|
250.85 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
135.45
|
136.00
|
131.00
|
131.55 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
410.00
|
411.50
|
393.50
|
400.20 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
420.00
|
421.80
|
408.00
|
411.50 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
418.00
|
423.30
|
403.10
|
407.85 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,320.00
|
1,320.00
|
1,275.00
|
1,281.25 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
209.25
|
211.00
|
205.25
|
206.20 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
399.00
|
399.00
|
385.60
|
390.15 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,205.00
|
1,217.00
|
1,180.00
|
1,193.60 |
| ACC |
|
|
|
356.60 |
| BHEL |
|
|
|
763.35 |
| Infosys
Technologies |
|
|
|
2,166.70 |
| Ranbaxy
Labs |
|
|
|
1,063.10 |
| Reliance
Energy |
|
|
|
529.60 |
| Satyam
Computer Services |
|
|
|
398.45 |
| Wipro |
|
|
|
641.90 |
| Zee
Telefilms |
|
|
|
132.50 |
Last
Update : 29 March, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| TISCO
|
419.50
|
419.50
|
398.25
|
401.60 |
| RELIANCE
|
567.00
|
567.90
|
545.10
|
549.15 |
| SBIN
|
665.00
|
665.00
|
637.00
|
641.70 |
| PNB
|
401.00
|
410.00
|
385.20
|
387.75 |
| ONGC |
862.00 |
862.00
|
828.10
|
833.15 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
418.00
|
423.50
|
403.00
|
407.90 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
400.00
|
400.70
|
393.20
|
398.25 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
2188.00
|
2188.00
|
2150.00
|
2166.60 |
| SAIL
|
64.50
|
65.50
|
62.55
|
62.85 |
| MARUTI
|
421.70
|
421.70
|
408.25
|
411.85 |
| WIPRO
|
643.20
|
646.15
|
637.00
|
641.20 |
| RANBAXY
|
1078.05
|
1084.70
|
1056.00
|
1065.65 |
| TCS
|
1395.00
|
1398.00
|
1362.20
|
1370.90 |
| M&M |
475.00 |
484.80
|
468.00
|
477.55 |
| ITC
|
1320.00
|
1323.30
|
1265.55
|
1275.10 |
| ACC
|
361.00
|
361.00
|
354.65
|
356.05 |
| HINDPETRO
|
311.00
|
313.45
|
298.00
|
299.80 |
| HCLTECH
|
353.00
|
355.00
|
334.15
|
344.25 |
| ICICIBANK
|
394.10
|
398.00
|
385.30
|
389.85 |
| BPCL
|
365.00
|
365.00
|
349.00
|
352.90 |
| LT
|
1006.00
|
1015.00
|
974.00
|
982.00 |
| HDFC
|
714.00
|
714.00
|
677.10
|
689.40 |
| BHEL
|
775.00
|
777.80
|
754.70
|
762.60 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
315.00
|
315.00
|
293.10
|
299.95 |
| MTNL
|
116.80
|
117.00
|
110.30
|
111.50 |
| GAIL
|
220.80
|
220.80
|
210.55
|
212.10 |
| SCI
|
168.00
|
168.00
|
147.50
|
148.45 |
| DRREDDY
|
776.10
|
778.00
|
736.40
|
742.00 |
| TATAPOWER
|
353.00
|
353.00
|
335.20
|
340.80 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
410.00
|
412.00
|
392.00
|
400.15 |
| BHARTI
|
211.50
|
211.50
|
204.10
|
205.85 |
| IPCL
|
169.90
|
171.40
|
164.50
|
165.25 |
| HINDLEVER
|
135.40
|
137.00
|
130.20
|
131.25 |
| HEROHONDA
|
545.00
|
545.00
|
507.00
|
519.05 |
| GRASIM
|
1205.00
|
1207.00
|
1180.00
|
1191.20 |
| CIPLA
|
259.70
|
259.70
|
247.10
|
250.95 |
| HDFCBANK
|
534.00
|
545.00
|
525.05
|
536.95 |
| VSNL
|
179.00
|
181.50
|
175.80
|
180.10 |
| HINDALC0
|
1325.00
|
1325.00
|
1270.00
|
1282.65 |
| REL
|
536.00
|
541.00
|
525.00
|
528.45 |
| ZEETELE
|
135.15
|
135.15
|
130.65
|
132.55 |
| TATACHEM
|
143.00
|
144.60
|
141.70
|
142.65 |
| GLAXO
|
685.00
|
714.00
|
685.00
|
701.90 |
| TATATEA
|
516.00
|
523.00
|
506.10
|
512.80 |
| NATIONALUM
|
172.25
|
173.45
|
167.25
|
168.85 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1089.90
|
1089.90
|
1010.20
|
1018.60 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
470.00
|
478.00
|
463.20
|
475.25 |
| DABUR
|
111.85
|
111.85
|
107.00
|
109.45 |
| ABB
|
1165.00
|
1184.90
|
1085.00
|
1121.05 |
| COLGATE
|
171.80
|
172.90
|
168.65
|
172.10 |
Last
Update : 29 March, 2005, 16:04PM
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