|
Global trends were weak when the markets opened and the indices started
on a weak note. Decline in US markets yesterday led to subdued opening in
most Asian markets today morning.
After
drifting for some time the markets faced fresh selling pressure on news of
higher inflation numbers. Reports that SEBI is watching the battle for Reliance
more keenly, affected the sentiments further. Banking
stocks, which had opened weak, started to slide which continued for the rest
of the day. The BSE Bank Index lost close to 3 per cent today. ICICI Bank
was the single largest loser among major stocks. SBI closed with losses of
over 3 per cent. Markets
seem to fear that the hike in reverse repo rate by RBI yesterday, would force
banks to raise deposit rates. At the same time, banks may not be able to increase
their lending rates to the same extent because of competitive pressures. The
official notification on EPF interest rate hike worsened the worries, though
this was known much earlier. Lower
than expected quarterly numbers from HLL saw further selling in the market
as the consumer goods major slipped over 5 per cent. Both
indices lost 2 per cent each. Sensex closed at 6154, down 130 points and the
Nifty at 1903, down 39 points. Nifty May futures discount to the spot index
narrowed to 20 points from yesterday's 25 points. Among
Nifty stocks, Cipla, TCS and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major percentage
gainers while ICICI Bank, HLL and Satyam Computer were the major losers. Yesterday,
US markets were hit by some weak economic data. Slowdown in economic growth
and decreasing consumer and industrial spending led to all round selling pressure.
Both Dow and NASDAQ lost well over a per cent each. After
falling below $50 to a barrel in early trades, crude oil futures for June
delivery closed marginally higher at $51.77 yesterday. Most
of the Indian ADR's continued their down trend, notable exceptions being Infosys
and VSNL. ICICI Bank, Satyam, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and MTNL all lost ground.
VSNL made a sharp up move gaining over 4 per cent, after TDSAT set aside the
TRAI directive on reducing international bandwidth charges. Inflation
for the week ended 16 April inched up higher to 5.64 per cent from 5.48 per
cent the week before. There
are signs of the government taking a more active role in the various Reliance
controversies. So far they have been surprisingly silent even on the face
of some serious allegations from both brothers, except on the issue of shareholding
in Reliance Infocomm which was raised in the Lok Sabha. Market
regulator SEBI is reported to have discussed the issue in its meeting today.
Refusal by the vice chairman to sign the accounts of Reliance Industries is
viewed with some concern by SEBI authorities. They are also looking into whether
the stake sale in IPCL by Reliance Capital would attract the provisions of
the takeover code. The
minister for company affairs stated in the Lok Sabha that all details regarding
the shareholding pattern of Reliance Infocomm will be placed before the house. Hindustan
Lever reported its first quarter numbers today. Even as revenues have shown
some signs of growth after almost three years of tough market conditions,
profits have decreased as compared to the previous year. The company has cited
increased investments in brand building and input cost pressures for the profit
decline. The
stock had appreciated in the beginning of this week only to lose ground later.
It lost over 5 per cent today after the results were announced. ONGC
was among the major losers among heavy weights. Analysts feel that the company
may not be able to sustain its margins as oil prices decline. Punjab
National Bank announced its results for the year ended March 2005. Profits
were above market expectations, aided by lower provisioning in the fourth
quarter. Profits for the year grew over 27 per cent to cross Rs1,400 crore.
The stock lost close to 2 per cent. Pharma
major Ranbaxy declared disappointing results for the first quarter after markets
closed yesterday. Profits have slipped as the company faced more legal hurdles
in increasing sales in export markets. The company says domestic sales were
affected to some extent by implementation of VAT. The stock lost close to
3 per cent in early trades before recovering and closing with marginal gains. Mid-cap
action Software
developer I-Flex declared excellent results for the quarter ended arch 2005.
Profits grew close to 58 per cent to Rs74 crore on a similar growth in revenues
as compared to the same quarter of previous year. Unlike
most Indian IT companies, I-Flex derives most of its revenues from software
products and not services. The company's integrated banking software is considered
to be one of the best in the world. The stock shot up over 8 per cent after
the results were announced. Shringar
Cinema, an operator of multiplex movie theaters, had a disastrous start on
the stock exchanges today. Issued at Rs53, the stock closed at Rs44.3 or a
loss of over 16 per cent on the first day itself. The stock opened at Rs57
on the NSE, which remained the high for the day, and saw an intra day low
of Rs44.1. Construction
company Hindustan Construction announced very encouraging results today. For
the fourth quarter, on a revenue growth of 36 per cent profits have grown
over 200 per cent. Revenues for the full year have crossed Rs1,500 crore.  Among
mid-cap stocks ITI, Philips Carbon and Vaibhav Gems were the significant percentage
gainers.
BSL,
Dhampur Sugar and Surat Electricity 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
|
6,154.44
|
-129.76
|
| NIFTY
|
1,902.50
|
-38.80
|
Last
Update : 29 April, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
257.00
|
268.30
|
254.00
|
263.70 |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
130.90
|
133.60
|
130.20
|
131.35 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
539.00
|
540.00
|
524.00
|
537.20 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
318.10
|
318.10
|
301.10
|
302.85 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
416.10
|
417.90
|
394.50
|
399.35 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,259.90
|
1,259.90
|
1,180.00
|
1,186.40 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,214.00
|
1,220.00
|
1,152.10
|
1,161.90 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
427.00
|
427.00
|
410.10
|
411.90 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
145.00
|
145.00
|
135.65
|
137.70 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
379.80
|
380.80
|
357.50
|
360.20 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
513.00
|
515.00
|
501.50
|
502.10 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
605.00 |
606.90
|
582.20
|
584.80 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
836.00
|
839.40
|
805.00
|
811.35 |
| RELIANCE*
|
543.00
|
544.00
|
525.10
|
527.70 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
747.90
|
747.90
|
727.00
|
730.85 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
418.00
|
418.00
|
403.35
|
406.35 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
644.00
|
644.00
|
634.90
|
637.15 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
366.00
|
366.00
|
359.00
|
360.25 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
427.50
|
427.50
|
419.00
|
421.35 |
| BHEL |
810.00 |
810.00
|
786.00
|
792.95 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
639.00
|
639.00
|
630.00
|
631.60 |
| TATA
POWER |
349.50
|
352.00
|
336.50
|
346.90 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,440.00
|
1,450.00
|
1,411.25
|
1,437.25 |
| Bajaj
Auto |
|
|
|
1,087.90 |
| Bharti
Televentures |
|
|
|
207.15 |
| Infosys
Technologies |
|
|
|
1,887.35 |
| Larsen
& Toubro Limited |
|
|
|
963.75 |
| Reliance
Energy |
|
|
|
480.05 |
| Ranbaxy
Labs |
|
|
|
912.85 |
| TISCO |
|
|
|
340.80 |
Last
Update : 29 April, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| TISCO
|
345.00
|
346.70
|
339.35
|
340.95 |
| RELIANCE
|
550.20
|
550.20
|
525.10
|
528.05 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
418.00
|
418.00
|
395.20
|
399.75 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
1919.00
|
1919.00
|
1876.40
|
1886.80 |
| SBIN
|
602.35
|
604.90
|
582.00
|
584.85 |
| TCS
|
1128.80
|
1144.70
|
1117.05
|
1131.10 |
| RANBAXY
|
902.80
|
920.00
|
870.25
|
913.75 |
| PNB
|
352.00
|
358.90
|
344.10
|
346.15 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
271.75
|
276.00
|
262.00
|
273.10 |
| ONGC
|
841.80
|
841.80
|
806.30
|
811.20 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
426.00
|
426.00
|
411.00
|
413.50 |
| MARUTI
|
416.00
|
418.00
|
403.50
|
406.40 |
| ITC
|
1449.90
|
1449.90
|
1412.55
|
1437.70 |
| SAIL
|
54.20
|
54.85
|
52.75
|
53.00 |
| HINDLEVER
|
144.10
|
145.00
|
136.35
|
137.55 |
| ICICIBANK
|
379.90
|
382.00
|
356.05
|
359.95 |
| WIPRO
|
642.00
|
642.00
|
630.00
|
630.80 |
| CIPLA
|
258.00
|
268.45
|
254.00
|
264.10 |
| M&M
|
432.20
|
445.65
|
431.55
|
442.90 |
| BHARTI
|
207.50
|
210.00
|
204.35
|
206.40 |
| GRASIM
|
1221.00
|
1221.00
|
1151.15
|
1162.50 |
| GAIL
|
200.00
|
208.50
|
198.50
|
203.90 |
| HINDPETRO
|
317.00
|
318.00
|
300.25
|
303.10 |
| MTNL
|
116.10
|
118.20
|
111.75
|
116.70 |
| IPCL
|
167.00
|
168.60
|
161.10
|
162.00 |
| BHEL
|
819.95
|
819.95
|
786.00
|
792.40 |
| TATAPOWER
|
331.00
|
353.00
|
331.00
|
345.85 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
429.00
|
429.00
|
419.00
|
420.75 |
| HINDALC0
|
1235.00
|
1248.90
|
1179.00
|
1186.25 |
| HDFC
|
752.50
|
752.50
|
727.00
|
731.20 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1092.10
|
1092.10
|
1075.00
|
1082.70 |
| VSNL
|
212.00
|
218.00
|
204.25
|
208.60 |
| HCLTECH
|
348.90
|
348.90
|
330.50
|
334.85 |
| ZEETELE
|
130.70
|
133.80
|
130.00
|
131.20 |
| HDFCBANK
|
536.40
|
540.25
|
523.00
|
535.00 |
| DRREDDY
|
642.00
|
645.00
|
633.50
|
637.25 |
| LT
|
983.80
|
983.80
|
962.00
|
966.60 |
| BPCL
|
354.00
|
356.90
|
344.60
|
346.65 |
| NATIONALUM
|
153.05
|
153.05
|
146.25
|
146.70 |
| ACC
|
367.80
|
367.80
|
360.00
|
360.60 |
| HEROHONDA
|
516.00
|
516.00
|
501.10
|
503.65 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
515.00
|
515.00
|
490.10
|
499.30 |
| SCI |
145.50 |
146.00
|
141.50
|
142.35 |
| REL
|
475.00
|
494.00
|
475.00
|
480.55 |
| DABUR
|
119.75
|
120.45
|
115.00
|
116.25 |
| TATATEA
|
520.60
|
523.00
|
512.00
|
512.55 |
| ABB
|
1240.00
|
1250.00
|
1200.05
|
1206.70 |
| TATACHEM
|
153.00
|
153.70
|
151.10
|
151.95 |
| GLAXO |
722.10 |
725.00
|
710.00
|
713.10 |
| COLGATE
|
203.50
|
205.40
|
199.00
|
200.30 |
Last
Update : 29 April, 2005, 16:04PM
| 
