The BSE Sensex remained volatile throughout the day. Althought trading was devoid of wild swings, the benchmark Sensex frequently moved in and out of the red. After opening weak, the Sensex had recovered but finally succumbed to pressure at higher levels in the late afternoon. Volatility is expected to continue tomorrow (Thursday, 22 February) as well, when the February derivative contracts are scheduled to expire.
The 30-shares BSE Sensex lost 64.89 points, at 14,188.49. It recovered from the day's low (14,157.72), and went on to strike a high of 14,312.88 on back of short-covering.
The S&P CNX Nifty lost 10.75 points (0.26%), to settle at 4,096.2.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4086.7 crore, compared to Rs 3886 crore on Tuesday.
The market-breadth, a measure of strength in the broader market, ended negative. Out of the 2,647 shares traded on BSE, 1,079 advanced, and 1,514 declined. Just 54 shares were unchanged. The market-breadth was strong in the opening session, but turned negative, as selling in small-cap and mid-cap stocks set in by early afternoon.
Among the 30-Sensex pack, 15 advanced while the rest declined.
Hero Honda was the top gainer, up 3.27% to Rs 739.5. It had struck a high of Rs 743, and a low of Rs 720.10. Auto stocks are rejoicing after the recent cut in fuel prices. Maruti Udyog (up 0.22% to Rs 896) and Tata Motors (up 0.37% to Rs 858.90) were the other gainers in the auto segment.
Housing finance firm HDFC gained 1.20% to Rs 1672.55, on reports that it may announce a hike in interest rates during this week.
Bharti Airtel (up 1.88% to Rs 806.30) and Gujarat Ambuja Cements (up 0.85% to Rs 131.15) were the other big gainers.
Metal producers Hindalco (up 1.38% to Rs 150.50) and Tata Steel (up 2.49% to Rs 455.20) gained on the back of firm metal prices globally.
FMCG major Hindustan Lever (HLL) was down 2.10% to Rs 195.50, on high volumes of 22.98 lakh shares. During trading hours on Tuesday, HLL reported 1.9% fall in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 511 crore from Rs 521 crore in the December 2005 quarter.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down 0.59% to Rs 1406.15, extending Tuesday’s rise.
Ranbaxy Labs was the top loser, down 3.29%, to Rs 382.50. The Indian pharma behemoth had slipped to a low of Rs 381.90, while investors worried over possible equity dilution if Ranbaxy acquired Merck's generics drug business. The company, however, scotched reports that it was planning an issue of shares in the US, or any dilution of stake by founders to fund the acquisition.
Frontline IT stocks were under pressure. Infosys (down 2.25% to Rs 2312.90), TCS (down 0.87% to Rs 1285.95) and Satyam Computers (down 3.16% to Rs 462.20) suffered.
L&T lost 0.63% to Rs 1657.30. It plans to invest Rs 10 billion ($226 million) to build a shipyard for very large crude carriers, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Bosch Chassis Systems India (erstwhile Kalyani Brakes) jumped 6.20% to Rs 933.75, after its board recommended a 1:1 bonus issue. Bosch Chassis posted a net profit of 5.97 crore in Q4 December 2006 compared with Rs 11.53 crore in Q4 December 2005. Net sales in Q4 December 2006 rose to Rs 124.65 crore from Rs 112.36 crore in the year ago quarter.
Yokogawa India advanced 3.90% to Rs 466.20, after Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Japan (Acquirer), accepted the offer at the discovered price of Rs 478 per fully paid share and will pay for all the valid shares submitted to delist the company.
Gail India slumped 4.20% to Rs 282.75, on 10.88 lakh shares after it scheduled a meeting of the board of directors on 6 March 2007, to consider the proposal of a special interim dividend for the financial year 2006-07.
IFCI topped the volume chart for the eighth consecutive day since NSE allowed fresh positions in the derivative segment of the scrip last week. IFCI surged 5.02% to close at Rs 30.35 on garnering a huge volume of 3.14 crore shares, while Zee News surged 4.45% to close at Rs 41.05, on a big volume of 74.37 lakh shares for the same reason as IFCI.
Lupin surged 8% to Rs 634.65, after the company on Tuesday inked a pact with Laboratoires Servier, France, for the sale of certain patent applications and intellectual property rights for a blood-pressure drug. The agreement for the drug, perindopril, holds good for multiple countries.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise gained 3.8% to Rs 498.30, following a report that the company is readying itself for a major acquisition in the United Kingdom.
SKF India gained 3.5% to Rs 311.30. After the company posted a net profit of Rs 31.73 crore for the quarter ended December 2006 compared to Rs 10.25 crore for the quarter ended December 2005. Total income increased from Rs 256.47 crore for the quarter ended December 2005 to Rs 381.66 crore for the quarter ended December 2006.
SKF India also posted a net profit of Rs 101.96 crore for the year ended December 2006 compared to Rs 64.07 crore for the year ended December 2005. Total income for the fiscal increased from Rs 816.01 crore (Rs 1350.83 crore).
Sintex Industries jumped 5.2% to Rs 224.20, after it won an order worth Rs 750 crore from the Gujarat Government.
Manugraph India surged 3.27% to Rs 202, after the company said on Tuesday that Reliance Mutual Fund had acquired a further 3.7% in the company, taking its stake to 5.96%. On 15 February 2007, Reliance Mutual Fund purchased shares of 11.25 lakh shares of Manugraph (3.7% stake) at Rs 185 through the open market purchases on BSE– of which 9.08 lakh shares were obtained from foreign fund Citigroup Global Markets.
Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steelmaker, reported a 2006 core profit of $15.3 billion on Wednesday, slightly below market expectations. Analysts had estimated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) on average at $15.4 billion.
The steel giant had previously told investors it expected core earnings between $15.2 - 15.4 billion. It was the first time the newly formed group presented annual results after Mittal Steel's successful takeover of Luxembourg-based Arcelor in 2006.
The Hang Seng index was up 0.41%, while the Japanese Nikkei 225 index was down 0.14%.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its key short-term interest rate from 0.25% to 0.5% - the first hike since July 2006. The hike is in line with analysts' expectations. The move came after the country's economy was confirmed to have recorded stronger-than-expected growth during October-December 2006.
The nine-member BoJ Policy Board voted 8-1 in favour of a rate hike at the end of a two-day meeting. The bank had refrained from tightening credit for seven months after ending its zero-interest-rate policy.
Japan's gross domestic product grew an annualised 4.8% in the October-December period from the preceding three months in real terms, extending its rising streak to eight quarters. The pace of expansion was faster than the average market projection of an annualised 3.8%, and 0.8% marked in the July-September period.
US stocks rose on Tuesday, as investors scooped up recently battered tech shares amid a flurry of merger deals, including one between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, and as oil prices eased. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 19.07 points, or 0.15%, to a record 12,786.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 4.14 points, or 0.28%, to 1,459.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 16.73 points, or 0.67%, to 2,513.04. The Dow earlier touched 12,795.93, a new lifetime high for the average.
US crude prices fell for a third day, down 22 cents, to $58.63 a barrel, after a cold spell in the world's top consumer ended, with some forecasters expecting moderate March weather.
Meanwhile, companies are expected to breathe a bit easy as statutory taxation rates are likely to be reduced by 3% in the Union Budget, either through abolition of 10% surcharge, or reduction of corporate tax from the current level of 30%. Either corporate tax rate is likely to be reduced to 27%, or surcharge will be abolished to give 3% relief to companies, reports said.
The statutory rate of taxes on companies stands at about 33.66% with corporate tax of 30% and surcharge of 10% along with education cess of 2%. Corporates are demanding around 5% cut in taxes, which is not likely to be accepted entirely, sources said adding the cut may be limited to 3% only.
The government collected close to 50% more corporate tax, at Rs 97,315 crore during the first 10 months of this fiscal against Rs 65,094 crore during April-January period of the previous fiscal.
In the previous Union Budget, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had cut corporate tax rate to 30% from earlier 35%, but increased surcharge to 10% from 2.5%.
Meanwhile, gold was locked in sideways trade amid extreme volatility in the currency markets, COMEX gold slipped after hitting a high of $665 and was currently trading at $662, up $1 as markets concentrated on the upcoming US CPI data, which can spell a further sell off for the US dollar, assisting Gold. MCX gold also traded in a sideways manner following these moves. MCX April was confined to a range of Rs 9459 -9509 and shed 1.81% in open interest.
Local bullion markets weakened sharply today, as a result of the sharp all in last night's trading in New York. 0.999 gold lost Rs 130 to trade at Rs 9471 pr 10 grams in Mumbai, while silver also shed Rs 145, changing hands at Rs 20055 per kg in Delhi.
The currency markets showed an extraordinary fluctuation today following the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) decision to raise its benchmark interest rates, stirring the markets in Asian trading.
Data released last week showed that Japan's gross domestic product in the October to December quarter rose 1.2% from the previous quarter in price adjusted terms, or 4.8% on an annualized basis, the fastest rate of expansion in nearly three years.
Following this move, the US dollar weakened initially against the yen, but recovered substantially afterwards as traders still continued to bet on the carry trade advantage. However, the Euro remained on a firm footing against the US currency, trading above 1.3100 and keeping Gold supported at lower levels.