If you want peace, stop fighting. If you want peace of mind, stop fighting with your thoughts.
It’s a season of festivities and joy but the bulls are lacking enthusiasm. The only words of enthusiasm seem to be coming from Anil Ambani who seeks to end disputes with Mukesh Ambani. Back to the market, a flat start is in the offing. US stocks hit new year highs on Friday and the August IIP data is expected to be strong. But, Asian markets are indecisive and choppy. A holiday-curtailed week on account of state elections and a Diwali weekend could mean lower volume on the domestic side.
Technical and derivative indicators are pointing to some caution amid mixed prospects for the economy and corporate earnings. Since making multi-month highs, the market has been struggling to build on the seven-month rally. Barring last week, the global markets too have been largely sluggish. Though the Alcoa result and few data points did perk up the mood on Wall Street, it remains to be seen whether the momentum can continue.
The overall trend may remain volatile and uncertain in the near-term. There may be a small correction but the same could spark off buying by those who have been feeling left out for quite some time. The upside will hinge on the India Inc.’s report card, local economic data, global cues and of course fund flows.
Results Today: Axis Bank, DCB, Exide Industries, HDFC, Praj Industries and Sintex Industries.
FIIs were net sellers in the cash segment on Friday at Rs442.7mn on a provisional basis. The local funds were net buyers at Rs867.2mn, according to figures published on the NSE's web site. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net sellers at Rs16.12bn.
US stocks gained on Friday at the end of a strong week, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting their highest levels in over a year after the trade gap shrank and the dollar too recover some of the lost ground against major currencies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 78 points, or 0.8%, to 9,864.94. The S&P 500 index gained 6 points, or 0.6% at 1,071.49 and the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 15 points, or 0.7%, to 2,139.28.
The Dow gained in four of five sessions last week and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained in all five sessions, as investors snapped up beaten down stocks after a two-week selloff.
Wall Street briefly topped 2009 closing highs during the session on Thursday, before closing just modestly lower. Thursday's run was fueled by Alcoa's better-than-expected profit report, a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims, and the first rise in monthly retail sales figures in a year.
Since bottoming on March 9 at a 12-year low, the S&P 500 has spiked 58%. Despite the pace of the run, the market probably still has more room to rise.
Friday was also the two-year anniversary of the Dow and S&P 500 closing at all-time highs. And 24 tumultuous months later, both averages are still more than 30% below those highs.
The US trade deficit narrowed to $30.7 billion in August, from a revised $31.9 billion in the previous month, the government reported Friday morning. That figure surprised economists, who were looking for the deficit to widen to $33 billion.
The Commerce Department report showed that exports rose, adding to bets that the global economy is recovering. The drop in imports was also a surprise to economists, who thought higher oil prices would have impacted the number.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on Thursday that while interest rates will stay low for a while, the Fed will have to start boosting rates as the recovery picks up, in order to fight off the threat of inflation.
Bernanke was speaking at a conference in Washington in which he discussed the Fed's still-expanding balance sheet in the aftermath of its multi-trillion-dollar efforts to help temper the pace of the recession.
His comments boosted the dollar, which has been stumbling for several weeks, hitting multi-month lows against a basket of other currencies.
US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts in strengthening cooperation around the world and trying to reduce the usage of nuclear weapons. The announcement was a shock, as Obama's name had not been mentioned among potential front runners.
US light crude oil for November delivery rose 8 cents to settle at $71.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for December delivery fell $7.70 to settle at $1,048.60 an ounce, the third straight record high for the precious metal.
Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.30% from 3.25% late on Thursday.
Market breadth was positive and lighter than average. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by three to two on volume of 990 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners two to one on volume of 1.97 billion shares.
A positive week ended on a down note for European shares on Friday, with miners losing ground on falling metals prices, while telecom were also under pressure. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index declined 0.3% to 242.72. The index ended 1.3% higher on Thursday. For the week, it gained 3.7%.
The UK's FTSE 100 index managed to finish higher, gaining 0.1% to 5,161.87. Germany's DAX index slipped 0.1% to close at 5,711.88 and the French CAC-40 index shed 0.2% to end at 3,799.61.
Thursday turned out to be an absolute choppy day which ended on a flat note. The index heavyweight Reliance industries which announced a 1:1 bonus issue on Wednesday surged in the early trades however as the day progressed the stock ended almost flat. The move which was meant to boost up investor confidence failed to inspire the bulls.
IT stocks were under the pressure as the Indian Rupee gained 12% since March. On the other hand the telecom stocks continue to remain under the bear attack on account of per second payment.
The BSE Sensex gained 37 points at 16,843 after touching a high of 16,998 and a low of 16,775. The index opened at 16,908 against the previous close of 16,806. The NSE Nifty was up 16 points to shut shop at 5,002.
In Asia, the Nikkei in Japan was up 0.4%, while Australia's S&P/ASX ended higher by 1.5% at 4,768. Shanghai SE Composite in China gained 1% and Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.2%.
In Europe, stocks were in the positive terrain. The FTSE in the UK was up 0.7%, The DAX in Germany was up 1.2% and the CAC 40 index in France was up 1.2%.
Coming back to India, among the BSE sectoral indices, the Realty index was the top gainer, adding 2%, followed by the FMCG index that was up 2% and the BSE Auto index was up 1.7%.
Among the major losers were, BSE Teck index was down 3%, BSE IT index down 2% and BSE Capital Goods index fell 0.2%.
The BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.8% and the BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.2%.
Among the 30-components of Sensex, 22 stocks ended in the green and only 8 ended in the negative terrain. Reliance Industries, ITC, Tata Steel, ONGC and Reliance Infra were among the major gainers.
On the other hand, among the major laggards were Bharti, Infosys, L&T, RCom and TCS.
Outside the frontline indices, the big losers in the broader market were Piramal Health, Sintex Ind, Max India, HCL Tech and United Phos. On the other hand, gainers included GE Shipping, Oracle Fin, Ashok Leyland and Videocon Ind.
Shares of Reliance Industries gained marginally by 1% at Rs2119. On Wednesday post market hours the company announced Bonus shares in the ratio of one equity share of Rs10/- each fully paid up for every one equity share of Rs10/- each of the Company.
Further, the Board declared a dividend of Rs13 per fully paid-up equity share of Rs10/- each.
Shares of Tata Motors gained by 5% to Rs587 after reports stated that the company is expected to produce around 40,000 Nanos this fiscal and increase it four-fold to over 170,000 units during FY11.
The stock opened at Rs565 and made an intra-day high of Rs600 and a low of Rs560. Total traded volumes stood at 1.6mn shares.
Jaguar Land Rover owned by Tata Motors announced that it arranged a US$278mn loan from the SBI.
The company has now completed 500mn pounds of new financing this year, including a US$90mn export-financing facility with ABC International Bank, it said today in a statement.
"We are pleased our funding plans are progressing and appreciate the confidence shown by our banking partners," Kenneth Gregor, chief financial officer of Jaguar Land Rover, said in the statement.
The government plans to sell 5% in NTPC Ltd, through a follow-on public offering in the month of January, 2010 stated reports.
The proposal is likely to come up for approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at its meeting on today, reports added. At current market price, the government will fetch Rs85bn, stated reports.
Shares of NTPC gained 1.4% to Rs212. The stock opened at Rs211 and made an intra-day high of Rs213 and a low of Rs210. Total traded volumes stood at 0.59mn shares.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc may purchase a 5% stake in Dr. Reddy’s by buying stock. Glaxo, may buy 20% of the family holding company’s 23.2% controlling stake, for an investment of about US$165mn, report stated.
Shares of Dr Reddy’s Labs gained by 3% to Rs976. The stock opened at Rs955 and made an intra-day high of Rs981 and a low of Rs931. Total traded volumes stood at 0.1mn shares.
Hindustan Zinc reduces Zinc prices by Rs1200 per ton. While prices of Lead prices were cut by Rs3,800.
Shares of Hindustan Zinc gained by 2.5% to Rs838. The stock opened at Rs834 and made an intra-day high of Rs846 and a low of Rs828. Total traded volumes stood at 64,000 shares.
Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren successfully upsizes its Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds offering for an amount of US$20mn, taking the total to US$150mn. JP Morgan has acted as the sole book- runner to the transaction.
Shares of Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren gained by 2% to end at Rs273.30. The stock opened at Rs273 and made an intra-day high of Rs281 and a low of Rs270. Total traded volumes stood at 1.9mn shares.
Shares of Plethico Pharma locked at 10% upper circuit to Rs287.20. The stock opened at Rs265 and made an intra-day high of Rs287.2 and a low of Rs260. Total traded volumes stood at 67,000 shares.
According to a report released on Thursday, "After 4-5 quarters of lacklustre performance, Plethico Pharma, a major nutraceuticals and OTC player, is set for accelerated growth as recessionary pressures ease and consumer spends recover globally. We estimate 63% growth in core earnings in CY09, followed by sustainable CAGR close to 20% over CY09-11.
There could be further upside to our estimates from better operating leverage, faster penetration of foreign markets by Natrol brands and higher offtake by Russian pharmacies through the Tricon deal. Plethico’s stock is trading at a significant 40-50% discount to peers and we expect this discount to narrow as earnings growth accelerates. We initiate coverage with a BUY rating and a target price of Rs440".
EdServ announced that it won a contract as Associate Training Provider (ATP) of Apex Hitech Institute, part of Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, whereby the Company becomes authorised to provide MES training across India.
Apex Hitech Institute, set up with assistance from the World Bank under Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGE&T), aims to provide training to youth to better their employability by MES programme using a wide range of courses across a host of job domains.
Based on this new relationship, EdServ will train unemployed and under-employed youth aged 14 years and upwards who have dropped out of schools and colleges for various reasons that include affordability and employment needs. Subsequent to EdServ's training, these students will get assessed and certified by DGE&T.
Shares of EdServ also were locked at 5% upper circuit at Rs166.7. The stock opened at Rs166.7 and made an intra-day high of Rs166.7 and a low of Rs162.25. Total traded volumes stood at 0.26mn shares.