|
As expected by a section of the market, the indices opened strong after
two days of major losses. Stable US markets and recovery in other Asian markets
provided a positive push in the morning and the indices gained over one and
a half per cent each.
After
trading firm till noon with broad-based gains, the market started losing ground
early in the afternoon. The first trigger was the news of large short positions
built by FII's in the futures segment yesterday. This is an indication that
the foreign investors are not very positive about the market direction in
the short term. Then
came the painful surprise from software major TCS. Even after the weak guidance
from Infosys, the market was not ready for a bad Jan-March quarter from TCS.
In fact analysts were expecting both revenues and profits to grow as compared
to the previous quarter. But to everyone's surprise, the company's profits
declined over 30 per cent even as revenues remained flat. Immediately
after the results came in, the markets tanked and the software stocks were
the worst hit. TCS went down over 10 per cent at one point before closing
with losses of over eight per cent. Satyam
and Wipro, which are set to announce their results shortly, also crashed after
trading firm in morning trades. Investors are worried about the results of
these companies in the wake of TCS experience. Infosys, which was trading
with gains of over two per cent in the morning, gave up all of it and closed
flat. Infosys announced an order win for its Flexcube banking software from
a Greek bank. Sensex
closed at 6135, down 22 points and the Nifty at 1909, down 18 points. The
fall in Nifty was more severe as TCS is a part of Nifty but is not present
in Sensex. Nifty April futures discount to the spot index widened to 22 points. Among
index stocks, VSNL, Colgate and HDFC Bank were the major percentage gainers
while TCS, ABB and Oriental Bank of Commerce were the major losers. Yesterday,
US markets stabilised after the sharp decline of last week. Dow closed marginally
lower while NASDAQ gained quarter of a per cent. Corporate results are giving
mixed trends with some major companies posting excellent results. Bank of
America announced a sharp jump in profitability and revenues for the quarter
and Texas Instruments results have met expectations. 3M disappointed as the
company faced pressure on profitability from rising input costs. Crude
futures for May delivery opened strong yesterday, crossing $51 to a barrel.
However, fresh selling emerged as finance ministers of advanced countries
discussed the impact of higher prices on economic growth. Prices settled lower
at $50.37 to a barrel. Indian
ADR's generally had a good session as many of them bounced back from last
week's losses. ICICI Bank with gains of close to three per cent was the most
significant winner. Tata Motors and VSNL also gained over two per cent each.
Infosys and HDFC Bank also gainer over a per cent each while Satyam and Wipro
lost ground. Oil
major ONGC announced its unaudited results for the year ended March 2005.
The profits are estimated at Rs12,500 crore and the company is positive about
the business environment in the short term. Audited results will be announced
next month. TCS
profits were affected by employee incentives of over Rs100 crore which the
company claims is a one-time expenditure. Also, the company had made windfall
gains of over Rs100 crore in the previous quarter from foreign exchange gains,
which it could not repeat in the current quarter. The more worrisome factor
is the decline in operating margins by over two per cent. Mid-cap
action Adlabs
Films gained over ten per cent in early trades on announcement of a preferential
allotment at a significant premium to yesterday's closing price. The funds
raised would be used to set up multiplexes in different part of the country. CMC
Ltd, a subsidiary of TCS, announced a loss for the quarter ended March 2005
as some major projects were postponed to the current year. For the full year,
profits have declined more than fifty per cent on a marginal rise in revenues.
The stock was battered down and lost close to 15 per cent in early trades. Hexaware
Technologies reported a growth of over 28 per cent on a revenue growth of
over 33 per cent for the first quarter ended March 2005 as compared to the
same quarter of previous year. The stock lost close to two per cent today. Lubricant
marketing company Castrol announced decent results for the first quarter ended
March 2005. Profits have grown close to 20 per cent as revenues rose about
ten per cent. The stock gained close to five per cent in early trades. Apollo
Hospitals is planning a GDR issue and will raise $60 million to fund its expansion
plans. The company says it is maintaining over 20 per cent top line growth
and is positive about the opportunities. The stock gained over four per cent
in early trades but declined later and closed a per cent lower. Essar
Steel was locked in ten per cent lower circuit for the second consecutive
day. The company is restructuring its capital as per the  debt
restructuring plan approved by banks. The stock would be suspended from trading
this week and will re-list next month. Among
mid-cap stocks Blue Dart, Today's Writing Instruments and BEML were the significant
percentage gainers. Genesys,
Teledata Informatics and BEPL 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
|
6,134.86
|
-21.92
|
| NIFTY
|
1,909.40 |
-18.40 |
Last
Update : 19 April, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
698.00
|
718.05
|
694.00
|
707.00 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
530.00
|
535.40
|
527.00
|
530.90
|
| BHARTI
TELE |
205.00
|
212.90
|
205.00
|
206.75 |
| TATA
POWER |
334.00
|
345.80
|
334.00
|
336.85 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
835.10
|
855.00
|
835.00
|
840.50 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,240.00
|
1,256.00
|
1,237.00
|
1,242.40 |
| ZEE
TELEF LT |
129.50
|
132.80
|
129.50
|
130.30 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
235.90
|
239.50
|
232.00
|
233.80 |
| RELIANCE
ENR* |
502.00
|
503.95
|
490.00
|
496.10 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
370.00
|
370.00
|
364.25
|
366.55 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,173.00
|
1,191.45
|
1,173.00
|
1,180.00 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
938.00
|
955.00
|
934.00
|
941.95 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
698.00
|
702.00
|
683.00
|
688.65 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
422.90
|
426.00
|
416.10
|
418.20 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
1,885.00
|
1,974.00
|
1,885.00
|
1,914.10 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
389.70
|
392.80
|
364.40
|
367.85 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
596.00
|
608.00
|
571.10
|
576.35 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
503.00
|
509.60
|
483.30
|
486.90 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
360.00
|
363.95
|
345.35
|
346.95 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
977.00
|
988.00
|
919.00
|
944.25 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
130.00
|
131.70
|
126.30
|
127.55 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,074.00
|
1,074.00
|
1,050.00
|
1,060.00 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
422.00
|
427.80
|
412.60
|
416.60 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
627.90
|
632.15
|
613.50
|
616.05 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
391.10
|
403.00
|
381.50
|
383.85 |
| RELIANCE*
|
520.50
|
530.00
|
512.10
|
514.10 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,398.00
|
1,398.00
|
1,365.00
|
1,369.15 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
419.00
|
422.50
|
411.60
|
413.10 |
| BHEL
|
791.00
|
799.90
|
776.05
|
782.70 |
| HINDUSTAN
PETROLEUM CORP. LTD. |
329.00
|
332.00
|
323.45
|
324.85 |
Last
Update : 19 April, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol | Open | High | Low | Last
Price | | TCS
| 1330.00
| 1348.90
| 1178.10
| 1208.70 |
| INFOSYSTCH
| 1934.00
| 1974.70
| 1900.00
| 1912.60 |
| TISCO
| 356.05
| 364.00
| 345.20
| 347.20 |
| SATYAMCOMP
| 387.20
| 392.90
| 364.05
| 367.55 |
| RELIANCE
| 524.00
| 530.50
| 512.00
| 514.00 |
| ONGC
| 838.90
| 855.65
| 836.90
| 840.55 |
| SBIN
| 624.75
| 632.90
| 614.10
| 616.45 |
| MARUTI
| 415.00
| 423.40
| 413.80
| 415.00 |
| SAIL
| 55.05
| 56.95
| 54.30
| 54.55 |
| TATAMOTORS
| 422.00
| 427.00
| 411.00
| 415.25 |
| WIPRO
| 595.00
| 607.90
| 570.00
| 576.95 |
| BHARTI
| 208.00
| 212.50
| 206.00
| 207.35 |
| GUJAMBCEM
| 420.00
| 425.65
| 416.50
| 418.30 |
| LT
| 973.70
| 989.90
| 929.00
| 942.00 |
| M&M
| 467.00
| 467.00
| 449.00
| 451.90 |
| ORIENTBANK
| 296.10
| 300.00
| 275.00
| 280.65 |
| PNB
| 378.00
| 383.00
| 374.25
| 376.00 |
| ITC
| 1399.70
| 1399.70
| 1368.05
| 1375.10 |
| HDFC
| 695.00
| 717.85
| 692.20
| 705.35 |
| RANBAXY
| 936.70
| 951.00
| 933.55
| 941.05 |
| CIPLA
| 236.00
| 239.70
| 233.10
| 234.55 |
| HINDPETRO
| 326.50
| 331.90
| 323.90
| 324.85 |
| TATAPOWER
| 332.30
| 346.40
| 332.30
| 336.65 |
| GAIL
| 204.40
| 207.80
| 198.60
| 200.50 |
| HINDLEVER
| 130.15
| 131.70
| 125.50
| 126.90 |
| HDFCBANK
| 530.00
| 535.00
| 526.55
| 531.30 |
| HEROHONDA
| 504.00
| 509.80
| 481.95
| 486.45 |
| HINDALC0
| 1245.00
| 1259.00
| 1235.00
| 1241.45 |
| REL
| 502.10
| 504.00
| 491.00
| 495.80 |
| ICICIBANK
| 395.00
| 404.00
| 380.75
| 383.80 |
| IPCL
| 162.90
| 164.50
| 155.80
| 156.35 |
| BHEL
| 788.00
| 799.00
| 773.00
| 781.05 |
| MTNL |
115.60 | 118.25
| 114.85
| 115.80 |
| DRREDDY
| 682.05
| 701.00
| 682.00
| 689.25 |
| ACC
| 364.20
| 368.80
| 360.25
| 367.00 |
| BPCL
| 374.30
| 381.75
| 365.05
| 367.80 |
| HCLTECH
| 360.00
| 362.90
| 335.00
| 342.90 |
| VSNL
| 191.90
| 201.60
| 189.70
| 197.70 |
| GRASIM
| 1191.00
| 1192.00
| 1174.95
| 1182.35 |
| SCI
| 146.40
| 147.50
| 139.20
| 140.15 |
| NATIONALUM
| 156.75
| 158.25
| 150.05
| 151.85 |
| ZEETELE
| 130.80
| 132.75
| 129.00
| 130.45 |
| COLGATE
| 190.00
| 205.50
| 190.00
| 196.40 |
| BAJAJAUTO
| 1070.00
| 1072.00
| 1050.05
| 1060.80 |
| TATATEA
| 518.00
| 526.90
| 511.30
| 514.80 |
| ABB
| 1267.50
| 1290.00
| 1181.25
| 1212.40 |
| SUNPHARMA
| 458.00
| 465.90
| 458.00
| 463.15 |
| TATACHEM
| 150.50
| 153.80
| 148.25
| 149.75 |
| DABUR
| 119.35
| 120.45
| 113.20
| 113.55 |
| GLAXO
| 713.50
| 723.00
| 704.30
| 710.65 |
Last Update
: 19 April, 2005, 16:04PM
| 
