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After yesterday's bloodbath, markets opened firm as beaten down frontline
stocks tried to bounce back. The Sensex which gained more than 40 points early
in the morning slid into negative territory and soon was trading 30 points
lower than yesterday's close. Strong gains in some of the frontline stocks
pulled the indices back into the green by noon. These gains were given up
by afternoon as no serious buying emerged and markets dropped to the lowest
levels for the day. However, indices staged a smart rally in the last half
hour of trade to close in positive territory. Sensex closed at 6381, up 13
points and the Nifty at 1994, up 10 points.
Among
index stocks HDFC and Tata Power were the biggest gainers while Ranbaxy and
GAIL were the major losers. Yesterday's
weakness in the Asian markets affected the US indices as well. Both Dow and
NASDAQ lost close to a per cent each with the NASDAQ closing at a 5 month
low. Crude oil futures rose marginally to $54.23 as OPEC denied reports that
it is raising output further. All
Indian ADR's lost substantially and ICICI Bank led the way with losses of
more than 6 per cent. Tech shares Infosys, Wipro and Satyam had a particularly
bad day with losses of more than 2 per cent each following the weakness on
NASDAQ. MTNL, VSNL, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and Dr. Reddy's also closed with
losses. Yesterday
SEBI issued revised guidelines for public issues under which the percentage
allocation to retail investors has been increased to 35 per cent from the
earlier 25 per cent. The amount of investment for being considered as a retail
investor has been raised to Rs1 lakh from the earlier Rs50 thousand. SBI
management is confident of maintaining growth as it sees no slowdown in momentum
for the economy. The bank feels that the interest outlook is stable unless
there is a major rise in inflation because of higher oil prices. The stock
gained close to 3 per cent. The
stock of pharma major Ranbaxy lost close to 4 per cent as a US court imposed
a temporary ban on sales of a generic drug marketed by the company along with
US generic company Teva. Pfizer, the patent holder of the proprietary drug
on which the generic drug was based, indicated that it may claim damages for
lost sales. Ranbaxy is reportedly filing an appeal against this order and
it may have to pay substantial damages to Pfizer if the appeal fails. The
ruling by the US court came as a disappointment for Ranbaxy which had won
a patent challenge yesterday in Austria for cholesterol lowering drug Atorvastatin.
Indian generic companies can expect such developments in the future as they
try to launch more generic products in western markets. Tata
Power has entered into a joint venture with Damodar Valley Power to set up
a 1,000mw hydro-power station in the state of Uttaranchal. Tata Power would
hold 74 per cent stake in the joint venture and would have management control.
The stock gained close to 5 per cent. The
Mahindra & Mahindra counter saw a huge block deal in the morning with
more than 5 per cent stake changing hands. The company later revealed that
Ford Motor Company of the US had sold its stake and M&M has divested its
stake in Ford Motor India in return. The identity of the buyer has not yet
been revealed. The stock closed almost 2 per cent higher. Jet
Airways will start its Singapore service from Mumbai on 14 April. It expects
to start services to Kuala Lumpur and London in the near future. The management
is confident that its international operations would break even in the first
year itself. The stock gained more than 2 per cent.
ICICI Bank was among the largest losers in the index stocks with losses of
close to 2 per cent. Yesterday the bank had announced a tie up with US retail
bank Wells Fargo to offer remittance services to US-based Indians. Wipro,
BHEL, Bharti Televentures and SAIL were some of the other major losers among
frontline stocks. Mid-cap
action
Mid-caps bounced
back smartly with the mid-cap index gaining close to 2 per cent. HCL
Technologies announced a tie up with US-based JDA Solutions for software services
in the Asian markets. The stock gained more than 2 per cent. Strides
Arcolab announced a deal worth $90-$160 million over a 5-year period with
a US-based hospital to develop and market injectables. The stock closed with
gains of almost 9 per cent. Hindustan
Construction gained more than 10 per cent on announcement of an order worth
Rs159 crore from Saudi Arabia. IVRCL and Nagarjuna Constructions were two
other construction stocks with good gains while Gammon India from the same
sector lost 5 per cent. Shree
Rama Multitech won an international order worth Rs50 crore from Unilever.
The stock saw good gains on this announcement. Essel Propack also posted good
gains towards close.  Asahi
Glass, Asian Hotels and LML were some of the stocks with gains of more than
10 per cent.
Among
the major losers were Trent, IPCA Labs, Glenmark, Sesa Goa and Karnataka Bank.
*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
|
6,381.40
|
+13.54
|
| NIFTY
|
1,993.70
|
+9.85
|
Last
Update : 30 March, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
699.00
|
741.00
|
692.00
|
735.10 |
| TATA
POWER |
343.00
|
359.75
|
341.50
|
356.40 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
517.00
|
550.55
|
511.50
|
544.90 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
640.90
|
664.00
|
638.00
|
661.00 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
833.90
|
866.15
|
833.90
|
859.20 |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
133.45
|
136.50
|
132.00
|
135.35 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
535.00
|
542.60
|
523.50
|
539.75 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
412.50
|
420.10
|
408.55
|
418.75 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,197.00 |
1,212.90
|
1,192.05
|
1,208.50 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,011.00
|
1,039.00
|
1,011.00
|
1,030.05 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
304.00
|
304.55
|
296.20
|
302.90 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
741.40
|
753.85
|
724.90
|
745.75 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
409.90
|
415.75
|
405.00
|
411.10 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
359.00
|
359.95
|
355.00
|
358.45 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,280.00
|
1,299.95
|
1,255.00
|
1,280.75 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
252.00
|
253.80
|
247.00
|
251.55 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,268.00
|
1,292.00
|
1,265.10
|
1,283.40 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
2,160.00
|
2,178.90
|
2,143.00
|
2,169.35 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
1,069.90 |
1,069.90
|
1,013.00
|
1,024.10 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
385.00
|
389.00
|
375.20
|
382.60 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
731.25
|
731.25
|
625.00
|
630.20 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
209.00
|
209.00
|
199.50
|
202.70 |
| BHEL |
765.00 |
767.80
|
741.60
|
750.75 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
402.00
|
406.20
|
391.35
|
396.40 |
| RELIANCE*
|
550.00
|
554.50
|
539.25
|
543.00 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
402.25
|
403.70
|
387.35
|
396.70 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
538.50
|
538.50
|
526.00
|
532.80 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
395.15
|
402.90
|
392.50
|
396.55 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
985.00
|
999.00
|
974.05
|
978.85 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
131.10
|
132.20
|
129.50
|
131.30 |
Last
Update : 30 March, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| RELIANCE
|
548.00
|
554.70
|
539.10
|
543.15 |
| TISCO
|
400.00
|
405.90
|
391.10
|
396.10 |
| SBIN
|
644.45
|
664.30
|
637.65
|
661.05 |
| ONGC
|
836.00
|
867.50
|
836.00
|
859.65 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
396.10
|
402.90
|
391.50
|
395.50 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
2155.05
|
2190.00
|
2142.00
|
2170.30 |
| RANBAXY
|
1053.00
|
1069.90
|
1012.60
|
1024.40 |
| PNB
|
390.90
|
395.90
|
385.30
|
394.25 |
| SAIL
|
62.90
|
63.65
|
60.90
|
61.95 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
409.45
|
415.90
|
404.55
|
411.20 |
| MARUTI
|
418.00
|
420.90
|
408.00
|
418.95 |
| TCS
|
1371.10
|
1400.00
|
1360.00
|
1390.55 |
| GAIL
|
213.90
|
214.00
|
200.00
|
207.70 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
401.05
|
404.45
|
387.50
|
396.20 |
| WIPRO
|
640.05
|
646.05
|
624.15
|
630.35 |
| HCLTECH
|
347.00
|
358.95
|
344.00
|
356.90 |
| HDFC |
696.95 |
739.90
|
691.25
|
734.80 |
| M&M
|
484.00
|
488.40
|
478.05
|
486.35 |
| ICICIBANK
|
389.00
|
389.50
|
375.00
|
383.00 |
| ITC
|
1279.00
|
1324.00
|
1254.00
|
1281.80 |
| HINDPETRO
|
300.00
|
305.50
|
295.10
|
302.60 |
| BHARTI
|
208.00
|
208.00
|
199.25
|
201.65 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
307.00
|
308.50
|
298.10
|
306.40 |
| HDFCBANK
|
535.00
|
537.90
|
526.05
|
533.25 |
| MTNL
|
111.95
|
113.90
|
110.00
|
112.45 |
| ACC
|
355.50
|
360.00
|
354.00
|
358.60 |
| TATAPOWER
|
343.40
|
360.00
|
341.05
|
356.45 |
| LT
|
991.00
|
1000.00
|
968.00
|
978.60 |
| BHEL
|
767.00
|
770.00
|
740.25
|
748.50 |
| IPCL
|
166.20
|
167.30
|
163.05
|
164.35 |
| HINDLEVER
|
132.20
|
132.45
|
129.20
|
131.25 |
| HEROHONDA
|
525.00
|
550.00
|
513.00
|
544.25 |
| BPCL
|
354.90
|
355.00
|
340.00
|
351.25 |
| CIPLA
|
253.35
|
253.35
|
245.50
|
251.15 |
| DRREDDY
|
744.00
|
755.00
|
725.00
|
745.60 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1020.00
|
1039.90
|
1010.00
|
1030.95 |
| SCI
|
149.00
|
151.75
|
147.10
|
149.60 |
| GRASIM
|
1200.00
|
1214.80
|
1190.05
|
1204.45 |
| VSNL
|
180.05
|
188.90
|
178.50
|
180.80 |
| REL
|
531.00
|
544.05
|
518.00
|
537.50 |
| TATATEA
|
510.00
|
520.00
|
501.20
|
516.40 |
| ZEETELE
|
132.00
|
136.00
|
132.00
|
135.40 |
| NATIONALUM
|
168.90
|
170.10
|
165.70
|
167.15 |
| TATACHEM
|
142.10
|
147.50
|
141.25
|
146.20 |
| DABUR
|
110.00
|
111.75
|
105.10
|
110.00 |
| HINDALC0
|
1270.00
|
1291.00
|
1270.00
|
1282.75 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
473.00
|
476.25
|
471.05
|
474.05 |
| ABB
|
1164.90
|
1164.90
|
1086.10
|
1134.35 |
| COLGATE
|
171.50
|
180.80
|
169.15
|
177.50 |
| GLAXO
|
704.00
|
706.75
|
696.00
|
700.85 |
Last
Update : 30 March, 2005, 16:04PM
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