|
After five days of continued up move, market saw some profit booking
today. After opening firm in the morning, the indices drifted down by noon
on broad based selling. The indices however managed to recover part of the
lost ground towards close. Sensex closed at 6892, down 22 points and the Nifty
at 2161, a loss of 8 points. The Nifty futures discount to the spot index
widened to 11 points.
Crude gained smartly on continued cold
spell in the Western hemisphere and continue to seek record levels. US markets
closed lower on concerns about oil prices and earnings downgrade by technology
product companies. Among Indian ADR's ICICI Bank was a major loser with losses
of more than 4 per cent. Investors dumped the stock in anticipation of the
fresh ADR offer due to open shortly. HDFC Bank continued its rally while MTNL
gained more than 2 per cent. Tech majors Infosys and Wipro ended in the red
while Satyam closed unchanged. Commodity markets continue to be on
a roll worldwide. Copper, Aluminium and Zinc are all hitting new highs practically
everyday. Gold rallied to a new high for calendar year 2005. Dollar weakness
is adding to the continued bull run in commodities. Sugar, however, is trending
lower on expectations of better output this year and good supply from Brazil.
Sugar prices had firmed up in the global markets in anticipation of import
demands from India, the world's largest consumer of sugar, which has not happened
to the extent predicted. Investment bank JM Morgan Stanley is holding
a conference for potential foreign investors in Mumbai. The meet has received
good response from overseas investors and Indian companies doing the presentations
include Reliance, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. Domestic brokerage ICICI Securities
conducted a similar exercise yesterday in Singapore. Brokerages, both domestic
and foreign are aggressively selling the India growth story to foreigners
and they seem to be lapping it up, going by the attendance. There were
unconfirmed reports of a possible merger between Reliance and IPCL. It may
be recalled that Reliance had acquired a strategic stake in IPCL from the
government a few years back. A merger between the two companies makes sense
as they both operate in the petrochemicals business and a combined entity
would be the dominant domestic petrochemicals player by far. However, Reliance
Industries denied these reports later. Reliance traded in positive territory
throughout the day with the stock touching Rs600 after a one year gap in morning
trades. It was widely reported in the media that a settlement is in sight
between the Ambani brothers. ICICI Bank CEO K V Kamath, who is acting as a
mediator in the dispute, is believed to have submitted a valuation report
on the Reliance group holdings in various companies. It is said that this
report would be the basis for an amicable settlement. Telecom companies
announced their subscriber addition numbers for the month of February. Bharti
Tele maintained its growth with additions of 4.17 lakh while Hutch reported
lower numbers as compared to January. Bharti stock closed flat after trading
firm in the morning. ICICI Bank was a major loser among index stocks
as the stock traced the weakness in its ADR yesterday. HDFC and HDFC Bank
closed in positive territory on sustained institutional buying. Auto
stocks continue to be weak, led by Tata Motors and Maruti. Commercial vehicles
manufacturer Ashok Leyland reported a 10 per cent volume growth for the month
of February as compared to previous year. Pharmaceuticals Company Cadila
Healthcare announced a tie-up with Tyco Healthcare to enter the lucrative
US market for generics. Tyco is one of the largest US companies in the generics
space. Pharma major Cipla gained close to 8 per cent on unconfirmed reports
of a stake sale to institutional investors. Other pharma stocks Ranbaxy and
Pfizer also saw good gains. Metal stocks closed weaker after a strong
performance in the morning. Nalco lost more than 3 per cent after yesterday's
strong rally. Steel stocks Tata Steel, SAIL and Essar Steel closed lower.
Sterlite Industries and Hindustan Zinc had firmed up in morning trades on
the back of rising copper and zinc prices in the international market. Mid-cap
action
Mid-caps also followed the frontline stocks and closed in the red. Most
of the stocks which had seen strong rallies over the last one week declined
on profit booking. Public sector telecom manufacturer ITI gained more
than 11 per cent in the morning on news of a contract from a Thailand company.
Medium sized IT company Scandent listed on the bourses today. Scandent
is the de-merged technology services arm of SSI Ltd and is now being run by
a different management. Scandent listed at Rs190 on the BSE and Rs185 on the
NSE. Public sector Allahabad Bank announced plans for a second public
issue in the near future to shore up capital base. The stock rallied more
than 4 per cent. Jammu and Kashmir Bank is also coming out with an issue in
the near future. Construction companies continue to be in the limelight.
Patel Engineering won 2 contracts for irrigation projects worth over Rs800
crore. The stock gained on good buying support. Gammon India was another winner
in the construction space with gains of 5 per cent. There are reports
of German truck company MAN AG picking up a stake in Bajaj Tempo. The company
was in news recently as Daimler Chrysler objected to use of the name Tempo,
which is a Daimler trademark. The company has proposed to change its name
to Force Motors. Tata Teleservices reported strong addition of 3.68
lakh subscribers for the month of February, an increase of 28 per cent as
compared to previous month. This is a superior performance as compared to
its competitors. Readers are reminded that Tata Teleservices is not a listed
company. Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd, the listed entity and a subsidiary
of Tata Teleservices, operates only the Maharashtra circle. There was
some interest in small finance companies like Sundaram Finance and Cholamandalam.
Sundaram Finance gained more than 4 per cent. Japanese markets shrugged
off weakness in US markets and the NIKKEI inched closer to 12,000 levels.
Other Asian markets were subdued with Hong Kong being the major loser. The
market breadth was very negative as the mid-cap space saw  deep
correction. The correction witnessed today was very mild and a deeper correction
cannot be ruled out in the short term. However, the market may try to
move up further before a deeper correction sets in.
*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
|
6881.49
|
-33.60 |
| NIFTY
|
2157.35
|
-11.60
|
Last
Update : 9 March, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
277.00
|
299.90
|
268.55
|
293.85 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
1,062.00 |
1,099.90
|
1,050.25
|
1,088.50 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,363.00
|
1,394.00
|
1,361.00
|
1,386.05 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
793.50
|
807.00
|
791.10
|
806.00 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
903.00
|
919.80
|
895.50
|
913.50 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
415.00
|
422.30
|
410.55
|
419.40 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,092.00
|
1,100.00
|
1,088.55
|
1,100.00 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
231.00
|
233.00
|
230.00
|
231.65 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
748.00
|
758.70
|
730.00
|
751.00 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
522.90
|
624.75
|
522.90
|
618.35 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
555.00
|
563.90
|
548.25
|
556.00 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
461.00
|
483.00
|
461.00
|
468.00 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
344.00
|
344.00
|
333.05
|
334.40 |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
144.45
|
144.45
|
140.55
|
140.70 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
396.00
|
398.00
|
387.15
|
391.30 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,465.00
|
1,465.00
|
1,423.00
|
1,430.00 |
| TATA
POWER |
403.90
|
404.50
|
390.00
|
394.10 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
147.20
|
147.20
|
142.05
|
144.00 |
| BHEL |
855.00 |
855.00
|
825.50
|
828.00 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
449.90
|
451.50
|
440.25
|
444.00 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
465.00
|
468.75
|
457.00
|
459.60 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
435.30
|
440.00
|
430.20
|
431.80 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
596.00
|
600.00
|
575.00
|
582.90 |
| RELIANCE*
|
595.00
|
600.80
|
584.15
|
585.80 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
2,260.00
|
2,272.00
|
2,054.00
|
2,247.05 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
1,107.40
|
1,118.80
|
1,090.10
|
1,093.00 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
522.90
|
624.75
|
522.90
|
618.35 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
718.00
|
725.10
|
704.55
|
714.20 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
729.00
|
731.90
|
713.00
|
721.55 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,381.30
|
1,395.00
|
1,361.00
|
1,377.00 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
370.90
|
372.45
|
364.30
|
367.00 |
Last
Update : 9 March, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| RELIANCE
|
595.10
|
600.75
|
587.10
|
587.15 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
415.25
|
426.00
|
411.05
|
418.00 |
| SBIN
|
727.00
|
731.90
|
712.20
|
720.10 |
| ONGC
|
906.00
|
919.40
|
895.25
|
911.90 |
| TISCO
|
438.00
|
440.10
|
430.35
|
432.25 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
484.00
|
484.00
|
463.60
|
468.00 |
| IPCL
|
186.85
|
192.20
|
176.55
|
183.30 |
| CIPLA
|
275.00
|
300.00
|
268.10
|
294.70 |
| SAIL
|
66.60
|
67.20
|
63.20
|
64.60 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
2250.00
|
2272.80
|
2226.30
|
2250.00 |
| PNB |
500.00 |
500.00
|
481.00
|
487.30 |
| TCS
|
1409.00
|
1426.50
|
1395.05
|
1406.80 |
| MARUTI
|
467.90
|
468.90
|
457.15
|
459.50 |
| RANBAXY
|
1060.00
|
1102.00
|
1049.25
|
1090.00 |
| HINDPETRO
|
342.00
|
343.80
|
333.60
|
335.50 |
| HDFC
|
794.00
|
807.00
|
790.00
|
801.00 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
368.00
|
370.90
|
354.15
|
360.75 |
| GAIL
|
249.90
|
253.80
|
238.00
|
243.15 |
| ACC
|
368.50
|
372.50
|
364.50
|
366.60 |
| WIPRO
|
720.00
|
725.85
|
704.10
|
713.00 |
| ICICIBANK
|
396.00
|
397.50
|
387.35
|
390.50 |
| GRASIM
|
1351.05
|
1394.00
|
1351.05
|
1375.00 |
| BPCL
|
410.00
|
414.40
|
401.00
|
404.00 |
| BHARTI
|
231.00
|
233.00
|
229.50
|
231.85 |
| TATAPOWER
|
405.00
|
405.00
|
390.00
|
395.20 |
| HCLTECH
|
354.00
|
364.30
|
353.00
|
356.35 |
| MTNL
|
135.70
|
138.90
|
134.20
|
136.05 |
| BHEL
|
845.00
|
849.90
|
826.45
|
830.00 |
| HINDLEVER
|
145.50
|
146.75
|
142.15
|
144.25 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
450.00
|
451.80
|
440.10
|
443.10 |
| M&M
|
550.35
|
554.75
|
537.05
|
539.05 |
| HDFCBANK
|
618.95
|
624.95
|
610.25
|
622.50 |
| LT
|
1115.10
|
1117.95
|
1091.00
|
1098.00 |
| ITC
|
1360.35
|
1395.00
|
1360.35
|
1368.10 |
| DRREDDY
|
741.00
|
758.90
|
730.00
|
752.90 |
| HINDALC0
|
1460.00
|
1460.50
|
1422.00
|
1440.25 |
| NATIONALUM
|
192.80
|
193.90
|
181.00
|
185.15 |
| HEROHONDA
|
560.00
|
564.00
|
548.00
|
552.10 |
| REL
|
598.00
|
600.05
|
575.00
|
581.00 |
| TATATEA
|
549.00
|
551.90
|
531.00
|
539.50 |
| SCI
|
170.50
|
172.90
|
162.50
|
167.00 |
| ZEETELE
|
144.00
|
144.45
|
141.00
|
143.00 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1091.15
|
1100.00
|
1081.25
|
1097.00 |
| DABUR
|
123.80
|
125.00
|
115.05
|
118.00 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
484.05
|
494.00
|
480.00
|
487.95 |
| TATACHEM
|
161.80
|
162.15
|
157.00
|
157.80 |
| VSNL
|
221.50
|
222.50
|
214.60
|
220.40 |
| GLAXO
|
758.90
|
758.90
|
736.15
|
748.25 |
| ABB
|
1303.50
|
1313.00
|
1265.10
|
1270.00 |
| COLGATE
|
184.75
|
187.00
|
183.00
|
184.50 |
Last
Update : 9 March, 2005, 16:00PM
| 
