|
The markets opened the settlement day for August derivatives
in a tentative fashion. Global cues were negative with
US markets trending closer to twomonth lows and oil prices
at new highs.However, the Nifty remained above yesterday's
closing levels though it was tested a couple of times
in morning trades.
The indices remained very volatile within a range for
most of the session. Every attempt at a rally was met
with selling pressure at higher levels as the markets
searched for direction.
Massive short covering in the last half-hour saw the indices
rising rapidly in a matter of minutes. Heavy buying was
seen in ONGC, BHEL, SAIL and VSNL.
The sensex closed at 7660, a gain of 48 points, and the
Nifty at 2354, a gain of 32 points. Nifty September futures
closed at a discount of 24 points to the spot index.
SAIL, VSNL and BHEL were the only stocks on the Nifty,
which managed to close with marginal gains while BPCL,
HDFC and Maruti were the major losers.
Record oil prices led to a slump in the US markets yesterday.
After opening with gains on record sales of newly built
houses, the major indices slipped as crude futures surged
in the afternoon. A further downgrade of the bonds issued
by Ford added to the negative sentiment.
The Dow lost over three quarters of a per cent while the
S&P 500 closed two-thirds of a per cent lower. NASDAQ
closed with losses of almost half-a-per cent.
Crude futures for October deliveries rose close to 3 per
cent in intra-day trades to record a new lifetime high
of $67.4 per barrel yesterday. A decline in US refined
inventories as per the weekly data released yesterday
and fresh warnings about fierce storms in the Gulf of
Mexico led to the surge. The commodity closed with gains
of over 2 per cent at $67.32 on the NYMEX yesterday.
Crude futures have set yet another lifetime high of $68
per barrel in opening Asian trades today before declining
later in the day. The commodity is trading lower by half-a
per cent below $67 in early European trades today.
Most Indian ADR's continued their down trend yesterday
in the US markets. The banking stocks were once again
among the worst hit. ICICI Bank lost well over a per cent
while HDFC Bank lost over 2 per cent. MTNL and Dr Reddy's
lost a per cent each while Tata Motors lost close to half-a-per
cent.
VSNL recovered from the previous day's big fall and closed
with gains of almost 2 per cent. Among the technology
ADR's, Infosys managed to close a per cent higher while
Wipro lost well over a per cent. Satyam closed with marginal
losses.
BHEL has been awarded the contract to set up two power
plants of 500mw each in Andhra Pradesh. The order from
the state generation company is worth over Rs2,100 crore.
BHEL closed with gains of close to 5 per cent.
Reliance Industries would raise $348 million in syndicated
loans to repay higher cost debt. The issue has been fully
underwritten by bankers to the issue and the initial response
from lenders has been good. The stock closed with marginal
gains.
UltraTech Cements, part of the Aditya Birla group, would
invest Rs600 crore to expand the captive power generation
units at its plants. Once the expansion is complete, the
company is expected to save Rs110 crore per annum on lower
electricity costs.
UltraTech will also invest Rs400 crore to improve production
efficiencies and capacity utilisation. The company has
ruled out any acquisitions in the near future. The stock
closed with gains of over 4 per cent.
TCS has opened a new development centre at Chennai to
service its clients in the insurance industry. The company
expects to add 5,000 additional employees at Chennai during
the current year out of a total of over 13,500 at all
locations. The stock gained well over 2 per cent.
The US subsidiary of Ranbaxy has won the suppliers' award
from one of the leading distributors of pharmaceutical
products in the US. The stock closed with gains of over
3 per cent.
A committee of government secretaries has recommended
the merger of Neelanchal Ispat with SAIL. Neelanchal is
a PSU based in Orissa. SAIL closed the day with gains
of close to 7 per cent, the biggest gainer among index
stocks.
The government has informed the parliament that Shipping
Corporation is planning to acquire 39 vessels in the next
two years. The acquisitions will be funded mostly by internal
accruals. The stock gained well over a per cent.
ING Vysya Bank has transferred its 14.87 per cent stake
in ING Vysya Life Insurance to Gujarat Ambuja Cements
after receiving the approval from regulatory authorities.
The cement company had clarified that this is purely a
financial investment. The stock closed with gains.
Housing finance major HDFC has launched its $500-million
FCCB programme yesterday. The bonds are convertible into
equity shares after five years at a price of Rs1,399 per
share and carry no interest. The bonds would be listed
on the Singapore stock exchange. The stock lost over a
per cent today.
Mid-Cap Action
Mid-caps
were less volatile than the frontline indices during the
day. They built up strength in the morning session and
sustained the uptrend for most of the day as many of the
losers from the last few days bounced back in spectacular
fashion. The CNX Mid-Cap index closed the day at 3549,
a gains of 40 points.
The
board of directors of Pantaloon Retail has approved a
rights issue in the ratio of one share for every five
shares held. The shares would be issued at Rs500 per share
and the company would raise over Rs220 crore to fund its
expansion plans.
The
stock of Pantaloon was extremely volatile in today's session.
By noon the stock had surged over 8 per cent, only to
collapse later and close more than 3 per cent lower.
Private
equity firm Barings has confirmed that it has dropped
the plan to sell its 35-per cent stake in software company
Mphasis BFL. Barings may look at unloading the stake through
a GDR issue at a later date. Mphasis BFL lost over 5 per
cent in today's trade.
Strong
buying was seen in some of the mid-cap software companies
today. Visual Soft led the pack with gains of close to
15 per cent. Rolta India, Aftek Infosys, Four Soft and
3i Infotech were the other major gainers.
Infotech
Enterprises would set up a dedicated design centre for
Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of US-based United Technologies.
The centre will be a part of Infotech's existing facility
at Hyderabad and will provide design and product engineering
services. The US company had signed a similar deal with
HCL Technologies recently.
After
a few days of correction, stocks of domestic brokerages
came back in a strong fashion. Geojit Financial was locked
in the 10 per cent upper circuit. India Bulls closed the
day with gains of over 6 per cent while India Infoline
closed almost 8 per cent higher.
The
US subsidiary of Crest Animation has entered into an agreement
with an American film distribution company to produce
three full-length animation feature films. The US company
would have the worldwide distribution rights while Crest
will retain the rights for distribution in India.
All
the three projects would be produced on a cost sharing
basis and the returns would also be shared equally. This
is the first time Crest is venturing into production of
feature films. The stock closed with gains of over 8 per
cent.
The
board of directors of Mid-Day Multimedia has approved
the preferential allotment of shares to Singapore-based
FII T Rowe Price. Close to 22 lakh shares will be issued
at a price of Rs82 per share and the company would raise
close to Rs18 crore.
Glenmark
Pharma has announced that its newly developed asthma drug
has received the US FDA sanction to enter the next phase
of clinical trials in the US. The company has licensed
the drug to US base Forest Laboratories which made the
application to the US FDA. Glenmark will receive a further
$20 million as milestone payment during this phase subject
to conditions.
Three
companies belonging to the Flex group were among the biggest
gainers on NSE. Flex Industries, Flex Engineering and
FCL technologies all closed with gains of close to 19
per cent each.
 Suryalaxmi
Cotton Mills, Mukta Arts and Pheonix Lamps were among
the best performing stocks among mid-caps.
Zodiac
JRD, Ruchi Infrastructure and Tata Investment Corp were
among the significant 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
|
7,669.34
|
+
57.34 |
| NIFTY
|
2,353.10
|
+
30.60 |
Last
Update : 25 August, 2005, 16:15 PM
Market
Counters
Figures in Rupees
BSE
30
| Scrip
Name |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| BHEL
|
1,068.80
|
1,119.00
|
1,066.00
|
1,105.75 |
| BAJAJ
AUTO |
1,365.00
|
1,410.00
|
1,340.20
|
1,405.55 |
| WIPRO
LTD. |
354.85
|
367.00
|
350.80
|
364.35 |
| RANBAXY
LABORATORIES LTD. |
521.30
|
537.00
|
511.05
|
531.10 |
| TATA
POWER |
419.70
|
432.00
|
413.15
|
429.75 |
| LARSEN
& TOUBRO LTD. |
1,294.00
|
1,329.90
|
1,286.00
|
1,312.25 |
| ONG
CORP LTD |
975.00
|
1,000.00
|
966.90
|
992.90 |
| TATA
IRON AND STEEL CO. LTD. |
377.00
|
389.10
|
376.15
|
383.10 |
| TCS
LTD |
1,309.80
|
1,326.60
|
1,298.00
|
1,322.05 |
| HINDALCO
IN |
1,380.00
|
1,398.70
|
1,370.00
|
1,389.90 |
| SATYAM
COMP |
498.00
|
502.75 |
493.10 |
497.70 |
| STATE
BANK OF INDIA |
780.00
|
788.00
|
769.00
|
781.35 |
| NTPC
LTD |
96.80
|
98.25
|
96.10
|
97.00 |
| BHARTI
TELE |
314.00
|
315.00
|
309.50
|
313.40 |
| CIPLA
LTD. |
350.00
|
351.85
|
346.00
|
350.45 |
| I
T C LTD |
1,698.00
|
1,712.95
|
1,691.25
|
1,703.70 |
| HINDUSTAN
LEVER LTD. |
162.90
|
164.00
|
161.50
|
162.35 |
| RELIANCE
|
698.00
|
700.45
|
692.00
|
696.45 |
| INFOSYS
TECHNOLOGIES LTD.-ORDI |
2,279.00
|
2,324.80
|
2,263.00
|
2,271.35 |
| HEROHONDA
M |
655.00
|
662.90
|
645.15
|
650.10 |
| HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CO |
904.00
|
910.00
|
877.00
|
885.80 |
| ICICI
BANK L |
490.00
|
490.00
|
477.00
|
481.35 |
| MARUTI
UDYOG |
469.00
|
470.00
|
456.80
|
462.10 |
| DR.REDDY'S
LABORATORIES LTD. |
800.00
|
806.95
|
785.55
|
791.60 |
| TATA
MOTORS |
472.10
|
476.00
|
465.00
|
469.80 |
| RELIANCE
ENR |
583.90
|
583.90
|
566.00
|
569.75 |
| HDFC
BANK LT |
645.00
|
652.75
|
638.05
|
649.10 |
| ASSOCIATED
CEMENT COMPANIES LT |
465.00
|
465.00
|
456.25
|
458.30 |
| GRASIM
INDUSTRIES LTD. |
1,299.50
|
1,300.00
|
1,286.15
|
1,295.95 |
| GUJARAT
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD. |
63.60
|
63.95
|
62.55
|
63.40 |
Last
Update : 25 August, 2005, 16:05PM
S&P
CNX Nifty
| Symbol |
Open |
High |
Low |
Last
Price |
| RELIANCE
|
699.50
|
700.80
|
692.95
|
696.35 |
| VSNL
|
355.00
|
382.90
|
355.00
|
378.40 |
| ONGC |
999.00 |
1006.00
|
966.60
|
996.10 |
| SBIN
|
780.00
|
787.00
|
768.55
|
781.65 |
| TISCO |
396.00 |
396.00
|
376.15
|
382.90 |
| SATYAMCOMP
|
496.00
|
502.55
|
493.25
|
497.85 |
| INFOSYSTCH
|
2270.00
|
2306.40
|
2266.35
|
2271.80 |
| TCS
|
1305.00
|
1330.00
|
1300.00
|
1323.65 |
| RANBAXY
|
520.00
|
538.00
|
513.10
|
530.90 |
| SAIL
|
60.00
|
64.60
|
59.70
|
63.75 |
| REL
|
577.00
|
580.25
|
565.00
|
568.70 |
| BHEL
|
1051.00
|
1122.00
|
1051.00
|
1106.45 |
| IPCL
|
180.95
|
180.95
|
178.00
|
179.70 |
| BHARTI
|
314.70
|
315.50
|
309.20
|
314.25 |
| HDFC
|
905.00
|
910.80
|
878.00
|
885.40 |
| TATAMOTORS
|
475.00
|
475.00
|
464.50
|
469.25 |
| HINDLEVER
|
163.00
|
164.05
|
161.10
|
161.95 |
| WIPRO
|
354.00
|
370.60
|
350.30
|
367.45 |
| MARUTI
|
489.00
|
489.00
|
455.90
|
461.25 |
| M&M
|
690.00
|
722.00
|
687.00
|
712.35 |
| GUJAMBCEM
|
63.10
|
64.00
|
62.55
|
63.55 |
| TATAPOWER
|
418.70
|
433.00
|
413.00
|
429.80 |
| PNB
|
401.40
|
404.40
|
398.00
|
400.35 |
| GRASIM
|
1280.25
|
1320.00
|
1280.25
|
1297.30 |
| ICICIBANK
|
492.00
|
494.95
|
476.30
|
484.50 |
| HDFCBANK
|
649.90
|
652.00
|
638.35
|
649.45 |
| LT
|
1293.00
|
1344.00
|
1290.00
|
1327.15 |
| ITC
|
1702.00
|
1716.80
|
1689.00
|
1708.30 |
| ACC
|
463.00
|
464.00
|
455.10
|
458.20 |
| HCLTECH
|
353.00
|
450.00
|
353.00
|
428.60 |
| ZEETELE
|
168.00
|
174.10
|
166.70
|
172.05 |
| MTNL
|
122.50
|
123.60
|
121.00
|
122.95 |
| HINDALC0
|
1380.00
|
1403.00
|
1370.55
|
1385.50 |
| BAJAJAUTO
|
1347.00
|
1414.00
|
1325.00
|
1406.35 |
| HEROHONDA
|
653.00
|
659.95
|
645.05
|
650.20 |
| TATATEA
|
809.00
|
835.00
|
802.15
|
823.40 |
| TATACHEM
|
185.50
|
185.80
|
181.70
|
182.90 |
| HINDPETRO
|
292.00
|
293.25
|
287.65
|
289.45 |
| GAIL
|
230.90
|
231.00
|
227.25
|
230.60 |
| DRREDDY
|
804.65
|
807.00
|
784.00
|
790.80 |
| ORIENTBANK
|
254.90
|
257.00
|
252.15
|
255.05 |
| SUNPHARMA
|
635.00
|
635.00
|
621.05
|
627.35 |
| BPCL
|
362.00
|
364.50
|
352.50
|
356.35 |
| DABUR
|
149.40
|
155.00 |
145.15
|
151.60 |
| SCI
|
153.00
|
155.10
|
150.85
|
153.95 |
| NATIONALUM
|
166.00
|
168.10
|
163.75
|
167.35 |
| COLGATE
|
253.25
|
254.70
|
248.00
|
250.30 |
| CIPLA
|
350.75
|
352.00
|
345.00
|
351.00 |
| GLAXO
|
862.50
|
897.90
|
845.00
|
889.00 |
| ABB
|
1480.00
|
1515.00
|
1475.00
|
1506.70 |
Last
Update : 25 August, 2005, 16:00PM
|
