|
The continuing sell off in Indian ADR's in US markets saw the domestic
markets opening weak in the morning. Technology stocks and select other frontline
stocks opened on a weak note.
After
remaining sideways till around noon, the indices declined as bank stocks turned
weak after the RBI declared its monetary policy. The
last hour of trade saw some short covering as today was the last day of trade
of the April series for the futures and options segment. The indices pulled
back into the green as some of the heavyweights like ITC, HDFC, Reliance,
etc, gained and the morning's losers cut part of their losses. Sensex
closed at 6284, up 6 points and the Nifty at 1941, up 6 points. Nifty May
futures closed the day at a discount of 25 points to the spot index. Among
Nifty stocks, Sun Pharma, VSNL and Hero Honda were the major percentage gainers
while Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank and ICICI Bank were
the major losers. After
opening weak, US markets bounced back yesterday to close in the positive.
The indices were affected by reports of lower demand for durables which raised
concerns of slowing economic growth. However, a sharp slide in oil prices
perked up the market by mid-day. Dow closed almost half a per cent higher
while NASDAQ had a more modest rise of less than one fifth of a per cent.
Crude
oil futures for June delivery plunged 5 per cent to close at $51.61 per barrel
after US inventory data showed a sharp jump. Oil prices have been declining
ever since Bush met the Saudi crown prince and talked about the need to increase
supplies and cool prices. ADR's
of Indian companies had a bloody day yesterday with all of them closing in
the red. The tech pack continued their downslide from Tuesday as Infosys lost
close to 3 per cent after a 6 per cent fall on the previous day. Satyam and
Wipro were no exception. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors all lost ground.
MTNL lost over 4 per cent while VSNL ended marginally lower. RBI
has left the monetary policy virtually unchanged. The central bank expects
the economy to grow at 7 per cent for fiscal 2006. Inflation outlook given
is 5 — 5.5 per cent and RBI believes interest rate cycle may have bottomed
out last year. RBI expects forex inflows for the current year to slow down
as compared to last year. The bullish outlook on economic growth is indeed
heartening. The
only rate change effected was a hike in reverse repo rate by 0.25 per cent.
Reverse repo is the RBI term for its borrowing from the market to absorb excess
liquidity. This hike means RBI expects some inflationary pressure at least
in the short term and would like to keep liquidity low to manage price levels.
Banking
stocks reacted negatively to the hike as bond prices fell. Almost all bank
stocks declined. SBI, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank all lost ground
immediately after the policy announcement. Telecom
major Bharti Televentures delivered results which were above expectations.
For the year ended March 2005, the company had a profit growth of 132 per
cent on a revenue growth of over 60 percent. What
surprised the analysts more is the strong fourth quarter growth in both revenues
and profits as compared to the third quarter. The margins have expanded even
as the average revenues per user per month declined from Rs519 to Rs504. The
company's revenues for the full year has crossed Rs8,000 crore. Mobile subscriber
base of the company is inching closer to the 11 million mark. The company
claims to be the only player with presence in all telecom circles. The stock
gained over 2 per cent on announcement of results. Wipro
has won an IT infrastructure management contract from European chemicals major
Akzo Nobel. The multi-million Euro contract is for managing Akzo Nobel's data
centres in Europe. Wipro may also get some SAP related work from Akzo. ONGC
is establishing a joint venture with British oil explorer Cairn Energy for
setting up an oil refinery and transportation pipe lines in the state of Rajasthan.
Cairn Energy has made large oil reserves in the Rajasthan desert. The venture
will have equal equity participation from both partners and the initial capital
will be Rs100 crore. Mid-cap
action Godrej
Consumer reported a 50 per cent rise in profits for the quarter ended March
2005 as compared to previous year on sales growth of close to 20 per cent.
For the full year profits have grown close to 40 per cent to almost Rs90 crore. Mid-cap
software stock Polaris crashed after the company announced weak results for
the quarter ended March. Net profits declined over 25 per cent even as revenues
went up by 17 per cent. The company says the costs have gone up on investments
made for product development and expects the pressure to continue for the
next few quarters. Even
the announcement of a share buy back could not save the stock as it went down
over 15 per cent after the results came out. Industrial
abrasives manufacturer Carborundum Universal jumped close to 10 per cent in
early trades after the company announced a liberal one for one bonus. The
company also has a BPO division which offers page setting and other publishing
related services to overseas customers. Plastic
pipe and container manufacturer Sintex Industries will acquire a majority
stake in Zeppelin India from its German parent. Zeppelin manufactures plastic
shelters for mobile hospitals, telecom transmitting towers etc. The target
company reportedly has a turnover of Rs40 crore and is one of the largest
manufacturers of such shelters in India. Shoppers
Stop IPO opened today after the Supreme Court vacated the stay imposed by
the Guwahati High Court earlier. According to reports, the issue had been
fully subscribed soon after opening. Ador
Welding, formerly Advani Oerlikon, gained over 12 per cent after the company
announced a sharp jump in profits yesterday. The company manufactures welding
equipment and power tools and is one of the market leaders.  Among
mid-cap stocks Dabur Pharma, Rajasthan Spinning and SRF were the significant
percentage gainers.
Bank
of India, Allahabad Bank and Shreyas Bank 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. Other
articles by Rex Mathew
List
of general reports on markets List
of general reports on finance
Market:
Indices
National
Markets
Gain (+) / Loss (-)
|
SENSEX
|
6,284.20
|
+5.70
|
| NIFTY
|
1,941.30
|
+5.90 |
Last
Update : 28 April, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| I
T C LTD |
1,402.00
|
1,470.00
|
1,402.00
|
1,451.55 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
205.00
|
208.60
|
199.00
|
207.65 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
728.95
|
759.00
|
725.40
|
748.85 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
499.10
|
523.05
|
499.10
|
516.00 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
407.00
|
428.00
|
407.00 |
418.35 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
255.00
|
258.75
|
249.00
|
257.80 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
900.00
|
929.70
|
875.25
|
917.60 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
424.00
|
432.95
|
422.10
|
426.75 |
| RELIANCE*
|
537.70
|
544.40
|
533.30
|
542.65 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
832.00
|
842.50
|
826.00
|
835.40 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
142.90
|
144.70
|
138.30
|
143.40 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
638.00
|
647.90
|
635.00
|
639.05 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
975.00
|
979.00
|
968.00
|
971.70 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
363.00
|
369.50
|
359.30
|
365.50 |
| TATA
POWER |
349.70
|
353.50
|
345.20
|
350.50 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
618.90
|
621.00
|
600.80
|
604.25 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
384.00
|
384.00
|
370.00
|
375.10 |
| BHEL |
819.00 |
823.95
|
796.00
|
803.05 |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
130.00
|
132.80
|
128.90
|
129.60 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
491.50
|
494.40
|
480.00
|
484.80 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
349.00
|
352.40
|
342.05
|
343.45 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
652.00
|
660.00
|
645.00
|
649.30 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,222.00
|
1,222.00
|
1,188.00
|
1,212.85 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
421.25
|
426.50
|
412.60
|
414.90 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
322.50
|
324.10
|
316.15
|
318.10 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
1,905.00
|
1,915.00
|
1,890.15
|
1,904.80 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,091.05
|
1,105.00
|
1,080.00
|
1,091.05 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,240.10
|
1,250.00
|
1,231.00
|
1,250.00 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
535.00
|
537.95
|
529.00
|
536.65 |
Last
Update : 28 April, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| RELIANCE
|
539.80
|
550.00
|
533.35
|
543.85 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
411.00
|
491.00
|
407.25
|
419.30 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
1910.00
|
1915.00
|
1890.00
|
1905.60 |
| SBIN
|
620.00
|
621.00
|
601.25
|
604.20 |
| TISCO
|
352.00
|
352.50
|
341.60
|
343.35 |
| RANBAXY
|
908.50
|
926.90
|
877.05
|
912.00 |
| ONGC
|
835.00
|
855.00
|
825.00
|
836.80 |
| TCS
|
1115.10
|
1130.00
|
1097.15
|
1114.80 |
| WIPRO
|
635.00
|
649.00
|
635.00
|
643.35 |
| ITC
|
1406.00
|
1474.00
|
1400.10
|
1450.30 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
432.75
|
433.00
|
420.25
|
427.85 |
| MARUTI
|
420.00
|
426.45
|
412.60
|
414.80 |
| BHARTI
|
201.95
|
208.40
|
199.20
|
207.45 |
| HINDLEVER
|
142.30
|
146.00
|
138.10
|
144.50 |
| PNB
|
368.75
|
371.00
|
350.00
|
352.15 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
285.35
|
285.35
|
266.00
|
271.15 |
| ICICIBANK
|
387.00
|
387.00
|
368.00
|
379.15 |
| M&M
|
444.00
|
448.00
|
431.05
|
436.35 |
| CIPLA
|
255.00
|
258.90
|
248.50
|
257.70 |
| DRREDDY
|
656.00
|
659.00
|
639.05
|
645.05 |
| SAIL
|
54.20
|
54.80
|
53.70
|
54.00 |
| HDFC
|
725.50
|
765.00
|
717.00
|
752.45 |
| IPCL
|
166.00
|
167.95
|
163.40
|
166.35 |
| GAIL |
208.10 |
209.00
|
204.05
|
204.95 |
| MTNL
|
115.50
|
117.50
|
114.60
|
116.25 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
424.00
|
434.80
|
421.75
|
429.00 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1084.00
|
1104.05
|
1080.10
|
1096.40 |
| BHEL
|
822.50
|
824.90
|
795.55
|
803.45 |
| HEROHONDA
|
502.00
|
526.00
|
501.10
|
521.00 |
| HCLTECH
|
345.00
|
352.90
|
335.10
|
346.55 |
| HINDPETRO
|
319.00
|
324.00
|
315.00
|
317.05 |
| VSNL
|
207.45
|
216.00
|
205.00
|
212.00 |
| HINDALC0
|
1240.00
|
1260.00
|
1228.10
|
1239.10 |
| ACC
|
364.10
|
372.00
|
355.05
|
367.45 |
| BPCL |
356.80 |
358.85
|
350.25
|
354.40 |
| SCI
|
149.00
|
149.00
|
143.00
|
145.05 |
| NATIONALUM
|
153.30
|
153.90
|
150.55
|
151.80 |
| GRASIM
|
1207.45
|
1226.95
|
1188.05
|
1215.60 |
| HDFCBANK
|
537.00
|
544.00
|
525.25
|
539.85 |
| REL
|
490.00
|
496.00
|
475.60
|
480.65 |
| TATATEA
|
523.35
|
525.85
|
518.00
|
520.60 |
| TATAPOWER
|
351.50
|
354.50
|
345.25
|
351.20 |
| DABUR
|
118.00
|
120.60
|
116.10
|
119.75 |
| ZEETELE
|
132.75
|
133.00
|
129.00
|
129.90 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
484.00
|
525.80
|
465.55
|
514.65 |
| LT
|
981.00
|
981.00
|
969.00
|
971.25 |
| COLGATE
|
198.00
|
207.30
|
198.00
|
204.20 |
| TATACHEM
|
151.00
|
155.00
|
150.55
|
153.90 |
| GLAXO
|
706.25
|
731.25
|
706.25
|
728.75 |
| ABB
|
1265.00
|
1265.00
|
1216.00
|
1239.20 |
Last
Update : 28 April, 2005, 16:04PM
| 
