|
Market opened surprisingly in the positive, shrugging off weak global
sentiments. However, indices struggled to hold higher levels and declined
rapidly. The indices managed a rebound early in the afternoon to test the
highs of the morning, only to decline again later. Sensex closed flat at 6604
and the Nifty at 2064, down 4 points.
Among
index stocks, ICICI Bank was the best performer with a new all time high of
Rs425 before closing at Rs418, a net gain of 3 percent over the previous closing.
Gujarat Ambuja and Dabur were the other percentage gainers while Tisco and
M&M were the top losers. On
Friday, ADR's of Indian companies resisted the weak sentiment on Wall Street
to post good gains. Satyam, MTNL and Tata Motors closed with gains of 3 percent
each. Wipro, Dr. Reddy's and VSNL also managed gains while ICICI Bank ended
flat. Heavy
construction and defense equipment manufacturer BEML was locked up in 20 percent
upper price circuit after the company reported a more than four fold increase
in profits for the year ended 31 March '05. Sales grew close to 10 percent
to Rs1,916 crore, the highest ever in the company's history. The figures are
provisional and un-audited. Defense
electronics major BEL also reported strong provisional figures for the financial
year '04 -'05. Profits rose close to 40 percent as sales grew 15 percent to
cross Rs3,000 crore for the first time in the company's history. Maruti
Udyog reported disappointing sales numbers for the month of March. Volume
sales are up a meager 3.6 percent as compared to last year. Sales of the entry-level
model 800 continued its rapid decline. In the absence of new model launches,
the company is finding it difficult to maintain growth momentum. Sales for
the year ended March '05 crossed the half million mark for the first time
in its history. The stock lost more than two percent. Other
auto stocks also declined on worries about slowing growth rates as oil prices
seek new highs. After posting spectacular growth over the past few years the
high base effect would catch up and hence percentage volume growth may not
be impressive in future. Tata Motors lost close to 2 percent and Mahindra
& Mahindra lost close to 3 percent. Cement
companies reported excellent growth in despatch volumes for the month of March.
ACC's despatches were 6 percent higher at 1.572 million tonnes. Grasim —
Ultratech combine reported a 10 percent jump in despatches to 2.581 million
tonnes. Despatches of Gujarat Ambuja went up 10 percent to 1.36 million tonnes.
ACC and Ultratech closed with marginal losses while Grasim managed to close
with gains. Gujarat Ambuja gained more than two percent. Steel
stocks skid on concerns over sustainability of steel prices in the second
half of the current year. There are reports that international steel prices
would start easing from the third quarter. Steel companies may face margin
pressures, as they would find it difficult to pass on higher input costs to
customers. Tata Steel lost close to 4 percent while SAIL lost 2 percent. Oil
marketing companies BPCL and HPCL lost ground in morning trades on higher
crude oil prices. The government has delayed the decision to hike retail fuel
prices and this would adversely affect the marketing companies. There
are reports that the government of Maharashtra has signed agreements with
a clutch of private companies to set up power plants in the state. Reliance
Energy, Tata Power, Essar and Spectrum are some of the companies who have
signed the agreements. The total capacity is said to be 12,500 MW of which
Reliance Energy would set up 4,000 MW. Reliance Energy gained close to a percent
while Tata Power lost more than a percent. Infosys
became the first Indian company to get a rating better than the country rating
from rating agency Standard & Poor. Despite the positive rating the company
has no plan to raise resources from abroad as it has considerable internal
funds. Settlement
has been reached between the government and ITC on the excise dispute. ITC
had won a long court battle when the Supreme Court ruled in its favor. The
government tried to circumvent the court order by issuing an ordinance, which
was widely criticized. Under the settlement, ITC will not demand repayment
of Rs350 crore it had paid as an advance to the government and the government
will withdraw the claims made under the ordinance. Mid-cap
action
Once again
mid-caps outperformed the frontline stocks and the CNX mid-cap 200 index posted
gains of close to a percent. During mid-session the index was trading with
gains of close to 2 percent. Commercial
vehicles maker Escorts reported a 45 per cent jump in March sales as compared
to the same month last year. Sales for the full year are up 48 percent. United
Breweries acquired the balance 35 percent stake in Associated Breweries for
Rs.24 crore. UB already had a 65 percent stake in the company. Strides
Arcolab gained as the company announced plans to raise $40 million through
an issue of FCCB's. The 5-year bonds to be listed at Singapore Exchange have
a conversion price of Rs360 or a 70 percent premium to the current market
price. Construction
stocks continued their upward move on fresh project orders. Patel Engineering,
MSK Projects and Kirloskar Brothers all reported fresh order wins. Nagarjuna
Construction, Gammon India and IVRCL also closed with gains. Small
IT company stocks had a spectacular day, as some domestic brokerages are bullish
on them. Sonata Software and RS Software were the star performers with gains
of 20 percent each. Aztec Software and Foursoft both gained more than 10 percent
each.
Hindustan Oil Exploration gained close to 10 percent on reports that the company
has proven and probable crude oil reserves of 34 million barrels in its existing
assets. Matrix
Labs, Easun Reyroll and Apcotex Lattices were some of the  other
major mid-cap gainers. Gateway
Distriparks, GTC Industries and Mukand Engineering were some of the significant
losers.
*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
|
6,604.42
|
-0.62 |
| NIFTY
|
2,063.40
|
-4.25 |
Last
Update : 4 April, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| ICICI
BANK L |
407.00
|
425.00
|
407.00
|
418.55 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
416.00
|
427.65
|
410.00
|
424.90 |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
140.00
|
141.50
|
138.20
|
140.30 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
885.70
|
898.00
|
870.50
|
893.55 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
720.50
|
735.00
|
717.00
|
725.80 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
1,029.00
|
1,045.00
|
1,013.50
|
1,034.05 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
665.00
|
698.00
|
665.00
|
680.65 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
261.40
|
290.00
|
259.75
|
262.35 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,340.00
|
1,380.00
|
1,337.25
|
1,366.00 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
551.00
|
560.05
|
532.00
|
543.90 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
422.50
|
429.00
|
420.65
|
422.90 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,248.00
|
1,248.00
|
1,222.50
|
1,233.00 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
745.00
|
754.00
|
742.00
|
744.90 |
| RELIANCE*
|
565.00
|
568.60
|
558.80
|
564.70 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
411.00
|
411.00
|
392.25
|
393.60 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,080.00
|
1,082.90
|
1,056.00
|
1,056.00 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
432.00
|
432.00
|
416.10
|
420.10 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
434.40
|
434.40
|
420.10
|
424.45 |
| BHEL
|
805.00
|
815.00
|
783.00
|
786.45 |
| TATA
POWER |
364.40
|
364.85
|
355.10
|
357.85 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
546.50
|
550.00
|
535.00
|
538.65 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
132.00
|
133.40
|
130.70
|
131.15 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
320.00
|
322.00
|
308.80
|
320.25 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
365.00
|
366.00
|
360.75
|
361.80 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
2,249.00
|
2,258.00
|
2,219.00
|
2,229.55 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
675.00
|
677.00
|
663.25
|
666.50 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,369.90
|
1,387.00
|
1,332.00
|
1,350.20 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
1,020.00
|
1,027.50
|
1,002.05
|
1,006.10 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
219.00
|
219.40
|
213.00
|
215.70 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
550.30
|
556.50
|
545.20
|
550.00 |
Last
Update : 4 April, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| ICICIBANK
|
407.00
|
425.00
|
407.00
|
418.35 |
| TISCO
|
409.25
|
412.45
|
392.20
|
393.60 |
| RELIANCE
|
567.00
|
568.55
|
559.10
|
565.05 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
2237.00
|
2257.00
|
2216.40
|
2228.65 |
| ONGC
|
883.00
|
897.75
|
869.05
|
892.95 |
| PNB
|
400.00
|
408.95
|
395.10
|
397.10 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
422.50
|
429.25
|
420.50
|
422.75 |
| SBIN
|
670.10
|
676.00
|
663.60
|
667.00 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
432.50
|
434.00
|
422.55
|
425.35 |
| TCS
|
1452.00
|
1456.80
|
1423.30
|
1427.75 |
| SAIL
|
65.20
|
65.30
|
62.90
|
63.20 |
| MARUTI |
431.00 |
432.00
|
415.00
|
420.05 |
| WIPRO
|
674.50
|
696.00
|
665.00
|
674.30 |
| RANBAXY
|
1019.00
|
1029.50
|
1002.15
|
1009.30 |
| ITC
|
1361.00
|
1382.00
|
1330.00
|
1349.25 |
| HINDPETRO
|
321.00
|
323.20
|
308.55
|
320.20 |
| HDFC
|
728.00
|
735.00
|
715.00
|
725.40 |
| BHEL |
806.00 |
820.00
|
783.00
|
787.00 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
416.00
|
427.10
|
405.95
|
424.15 |
| HCLTECH
|
384.00
|
384.00
|
370.00
|
377.60 |
| GAIL
|
218.90
|
221.45
|
215.00
|
219.75 |
| IPCL
|
171.70
|
175.00
|
168.10
|
173.40 |
| M&M
|
509.40
|
509.40
|
487.50
|
490.95 |
| TATAPOWER
|
366.00
|
366.00
|
355.00
|
356.40 |
| LT
|
1020.00
|
1045.85
|
1010.00
|
1034.20 |
| BHARTI |
213.60 |
218.55
|
212.00
|
215.70 |
| REL
|
544.00
|
560.00
|
539.15
|
544.25 |
| HINDLEVER
|
133.40
|
133.40
|
130.50
|
131.50 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
321.00
|
326.90
|
314.00
|
315.75 |
| CIPLA
|
261.40
|
266.00
|
258.50
|
260.90 |
| BPCL
|
365.00
|
365.00
|
352.50
|
359.20 |
| MTNL
|
120.00
|
121.00
|
115.50
|
118.75 |
| ACC
|
364.00
|
365.00
|
360.05
|
361.75 |
| SCI
|
156.00
|
156.40
|
152.25
|
154.20 |
| HEROHONDA
|
553.90
|
553.90
|
534.05
|
536.60 |
| DRREDDY
|
745.00
|
754.90
|
742.05
|
744.50 |
| HINDALC0
|
1350.00
|
1377.95
|
1333.00
|
1371.55 |
| NATIONALUM
|
182.50
|
182.50
|
174.05
|
175.30 |
| ZEETELE
|
138.85
|
141.40
|
138.30
|
140.15 |
| TATATEA
|
531.00
|
538.95
|
525.50
|
531.60 |
| DABUR
|
113.00
|
116.00
|
109.00
|
112.35 |
| HDFCBANK
|
552.00
|
553.90
|
540.25
|
552.20 |
| GRASIM
|
1235.00
|
1244.90
|
1225.00
|
1234.55 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1095.00
|
1096.00
|
1060.00
|
1064.60 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
465.50
|
475.00
|
461.55
|
470.15 |
| VSNL
|
191.00
|
202.60
|
190.60
|
195.25 |
| TATACHEM
|
152.00
|
152.90
|
149.50
|
150.60 |
| GLAXO
|
716.05
|
725.00
|
709.20
|
710.20 |
| ABB
|
1227.00
|
1227.00
|
1178.00
|
1188.95 |
| COLGATE
|
182.00
|
183.80
|
179.50
|
182.80 |
Last
Update : 4 April, 2005, 16:04PM
| 
