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Monday, March 16, 2009

BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - March 16 2009


Deal Date Scrip Code Company Client Name Deal Type * Quantity Price **
16/3/2009 532840 ADVANTA MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS COMPANY LIMITED B 85000 447.00
16/3/2009 532840 ADVANTA MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS LIMITED S 85000 447.00
16/3/2009 530707 AFTEK LTD MEGA RESOURCES LTD S 550000 7.05
16/3/2009 533029 ALKALI ALIN AJAYKUMAR SHAH B 56500 174.84
16/3/2009 533029 ALKALI MAVI INVESTMENT FUND LTD. S 62500 173.42
16/3/2009 524388 CRAZY INFOTE ALKA DAGA B 342800 0.83
16/3/2009 530393 DB(INTR) STBR SADHNA RATHI S 15501 19.95
16/3/2009 526285 DIVYAJYO IND PULKIT KUMAR NYATI B 140000 6.84
16/3/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS MATRIX EQUITRADE PVT. LTD. B 101694 120.25
16/3/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS OPG SECURITIES P LTD B 336703 111.22
16/3/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS H.J. SECURITIES PVT. LTD. B 248780 114.56
16/3/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS MATRIX EQUITRADE PVT. LTD. S 101694 120.47
16/3/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS OPG SECURITIES P LTD S 336703 111.37
16/3/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS H.J. SECURITIES PVT. LTD. S 248780 114.74
16/3/2009 531524 I.C.S.A. IND CLSA MAURITIUS LIMITED S 365000 51.01
16/3/2009 590003 KARUR VYSYA-PMS SATABDI INVESTMENTS PVT LTD S 278000 192.19
16/3/2009 590003 KARUR VYSYA-PMS SHRINE FINANCE INVESTMENTS PVT LTD S 318000 192.32
16/3/2009 531687 KARUTURI GLO MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS COMPANY LIMITED B 2500000 9.59
16/3/2009 531687 KARUTURI GLO MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS LIMITED S 2500000 9.59
16/3/2009 511728 KZLEASING NAINESH HIMAT JATANIA B 27000 67.65
16/3/2009 511728 KZLEASING KAMLESH H DAFTARY B 15400 67.96
16/3/2009 511728 KZLEASING YOGESH GIRDHARLAL PANDYA S 27051 67.59
16/3/2009 511728 KZLEASING AMI STOCK SHARE BROKERS PLTD S 50000 68.90
16/3/2009 511728 KZLEASING NAINESH HIMAT JATANIA S 27000 69.16
16/3/2009 511728 KZLEASING KARAN MAHESHKUMAR HADVANI S 16560 69.34
16/3/2009 517518 LLOYD ELE EN MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS COMPANY LIMITED B 244828 14.90
16/3/2009 517518 LLOYD ELE EN MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS LIMITED S 244828 14.90
16/3/2009 531096 MOUNT EVE MI MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS COMPANY LIMITED B 588621 39.00
16/3/2009 531096 MOUNT EVE MI MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS LIMITED S 588621 39.00
16/3/2009 532517 PATNI COMPUT HSBC GLOBAL INVT FUNDS AC HSBC GLOBAL INVST FUNDS MAURITIUS LTD S 1000000 110.00
16/3/2009 531746 PRAJAY ENG S MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS COMPANY LIMITED B 239000 13.35
16/3/2009 531746 PRAJAY ENG S MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS LIMITED S 239000 13.35
16/3/2009 523523 RAINBOW PAPE PRIYANK GAUTAMCHAND SURANA B 70000 34.90
16/3/2009 531569 SANJIVA PARA VIRENDRA MOHANLAL PATEL S 45000 10.95
16/3/2009 511431 VAKRAN SOFTW MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS COMPANY LIMITED B 453000 21.70
16/3/2009 511431 VAKRAN SOFTW MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS LIMITED S 453000 21.70
16/3/2009 526953 VENUS REMEDS MORGAN STANLEY MAURITIUS COMPANY LIMITED B 100000 160.00
16/3/2009 526953 VENUS REMEDS MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENTS MAURITIUS LIMITED S 100000 160.00
16/3/2009 531249 WELL PACK PA KAMLESH NAHAR B 23000 93.86

NSE Bulk Deals to Watch - March 16 2009


Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
16-MAR-2009,ALKALI,Alkali Metals Limited,ALIN AJAYKUMAR SHAH,BUY,56500,174.84,-
16-MAR-2009,AMTEKINDIA,Amtek India Limited,J.P.MORGAN SECURITIES LTD A/C,BUY,2280000,32.00,-
16-MAR-2009,APOLLOSIND,Apollo Sindhoori Capital,THANGAMMAL,BUY,733993,9.95,-
16-MAR-2009,CENTUM,Centum Electronics Ltd.,SWAPNA KANTHETI,BUY,53702,19.75,-
16-MAR-2009,EDUCOMP,Educomp Solutions Limited,C D INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD,BUY,132434,1893.61,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PVT LTD,BUY,115269,117.96,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,BP FINTRADE PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,192687,109.40,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,C D INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD,BUY,76044,115.47,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,COMPOSITE SECURITIES LTD,BUY,151316,117.29,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,EAST INDIA SECURITIES LTD.,BUY,91680,116.54,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,MANIPUT INVESTMENTS PVT LTD,BUY,125288,116.26,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,NIRSHILP SECURITIES PVT. LTD.,BUY,128136,111.03,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,OM INVESTMENTS,BUY,305269,115.82,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,P R B SECURITIES PRIVATE LTD,BUY,83050,117.88,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,SUNEET LAL,BUY,246255,104.90,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,TODI SECURITIES PVT. LTD.,BUY,82508,118.01,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD.,BUY,147799,115.01,-
16-MAR-2009,PATNI,Patni Computer Systems L,RELIANCE CAPITAL TRUSTEE CO. LTD. A/C RELIANCE GROWTH FUND,BUY,1600000,110.00,-
16-MAR-2009,PRIMESECU,Prime Securities Limited,JUDITH INVESTMENT PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,1798996,10.60,-
16-MAR-2009,ZANDUPHARM,Zandu Pharma works Ltd,IRIS MERCANTILE PVT. LTD,BUY,4500,4658.33,-
16-MAR-2009,ALKALI,Alkali Metals Limited,MAVI INVESTMENT FUND LTD DEUTSCHE BANK,SELL,62500,173.46,-
16-MAR-2009,AMTEKINDIA,Amtek India Limited,HSBC EQUITY FUND - MF/046/02/5/HEF,SELL,1502964,32.00,-
16-MAR-2009,APOLLOSIND,Apollo Sindhoori Capital,BALASUBRAMANIAN P S,SELL,325360,9.90,-
16-MAR-2009,APOLLOSIND,Apollo Sindhoori Capital,VAIDYANATHAN KALYANI,SELL,325360,9.95,-
16-MAR-2009,CENTUM,Centum Electronics Ltd.,ALLIANZ BAJAJ LIFE INSURANCE CO.LTD.,SELL,54804,19.89,-
16-MAR-2009,EDUCOMP,Educomp Solutions Limited,C D INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD,SELL,132734,1894.44,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PVT LTD,SELL,115269,118.14,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,BP FINTRADE PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,192815,109.45,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,C D INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD,SELL,76044,115.66,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,COMPOSITE SECURITIES LTD,SELL,151316,117.68,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,EAST INDIA SECURITIES LTD.,SELL,91680,116.89,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,MANIPUT INVESTMENTS PVT LTD,SELL,125288,116.54,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,NIRSHILP SECURITIES PVT. LTD.,SELL,132936,110.46,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,OM INVESTMENTS,SELL,305269,115.98,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,P R B SECURITIES PRIVATE LTD,SELL,83050,117.87,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,SUNEET LAL,SELL,243855,105.74,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,TODI SECURITIES PVT. LTD.,SELL,82508,118.07,-
16-MAR-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,TRANSGLOBAL SECURITIES LTD.,SELL,145799,114.92,-
16-MAR-2009,ICSA,ICSA (India) Limited,CLSA (MAURITIUS) LIMITED,SELL,535000,51.10,-
16-MAR-2009,PATNI,Patni Computer Systems L,HSBC GLOBAL INVESTMENT FUNDS A/C HSBC GLOBAL INVESTMENT FUN,SELL,2104439,110.00,-
16-MAR-2009,PRIMESECU,Prime Securities Limited,MADHU JAYAKUMAR,SELL,1798400,10.60,-
16-MAR-2009,ZANDUPHARM,Zandu Pharma works Ltd,VAIPA PHARMACEUTICALS PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,4500,4658.33,-

Post Session Commentary - March 16 2009


Indian market exhibited a good show after the mid session to close with gains of more than 2% on significant buying pressures across the sectoral indices. Key benchmark indices pulled back after touching red zone tracking positive cues from the Asian markets, which touched one month high. Firm European markets also contributed to the upward movement.

The domestic market opened marginally up on the back of positive cues from the markets all over the world. US stock markets on Friday ended higher for the fourth consecutive day mainly led by the financial stocks. Soon after start, benchmark indices turned volatile and slipped from its high amid mixed cues from Asian stocks. The market swung between positive and negative territory on account of lack of clarity over any particular direction. Further, market managed go gain momentum on initial buying from foreign funds and expectation of short-term recovery in domestic economy. Finally, market surged to day’s high on intense buying on key stocks. BSE Sensex ended above 8,900 mark and NSE Nifty above 2,800 level. From the sectoral front, all indices ended in green. Among those, Reality, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durable, PSU, Bank and Capital Goods stocks witnessed most of the buying. BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap stocks also followed the same trend.

Among the Sensex pack 25 stocks ended in green territory and 5 in red. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained strong as 1611 stocks closed in green while 847 stocks closed in red and 87 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 186.93 points at 8,943.54 and NSE Nifty ended up by 58 points at 2,777.25. BSE Mid Caps and BSE Small Caps ended with gains of 60.20 points and 64.43 points at 2,700.56 and 2,998.49 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 8,955.73 and intraday low of 8,697.46.

Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are JP Associates (8.96%), M&M Ltd (8.48%), Ranbaxy Lab (6.82%), RCom (6.74%), DLF Ltd (6.16%), ICICI Bank (4.52%), SBI (3.65%), Sterlie Industries (3.52%), Reliance (3.45%) and Tata Motors (2.97%).

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Sun Pharma (2.05%), Maruti Suzuki (1.90%), Grasim Indus (1.03%), Infosys Tech (0.62%) and Reliance Infra (0.41%).

The advance tax payment of RIL fell 16.47% to Rs 370 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q4 March 2008 along with Tata Steel fell 23.33% to Rs 230 crore while SBI''s tax payment has surged 57.66% to Rs 1,810.crore.

On the global markets front the Asian markets which opened before the Indian market, ended higher on cautious optimism that government pledges to mend the financial system and encourage growth, which will give a boost to the deteriorating world economy. Shanghai Composite, Seng, Nikkei 225, and Straits Times index ended higher by 24.44, 450.91, 134.87 and 8.8 points at 2,153.29, 12,976.71, 7,704.15 and 1,586.32 respectively. However, Seoul Composite lost 0.57 points at 1,125.46

European markets which opened after the Indian market are trading in higher as investor confidence is strong on positive outlooks from both the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the meeting of the Group of 20 leading economies over the weekend. In London FTSE 100 is trading higher by 69.31 points at 3,822.99 and in Frankfurt the DAX index is trading down by 91.20 points at 4,044.80.

The BSE Reality index outperformed the benchmark indices and ended up by (5.35%) or 75.35 points at 1,483.91 on hopes lower rates will encourage housing demand. Gainers are Mahindra Life (22.03%), Akruti city (19.05%), Pheonix Mill (6.97%), Parsvnath (6.17%) and DLF Ltd (6.16%).

The BSE Oil & Gas index ended higher by (3.44%) or 209.74 points to close at 6,298.26. Reliance Natural Resources (16.03%), Essar Oil Ltd (14.72%), HPCL (8.30%), Aban Offshore (6.23%) and Gail India (4.88%) ended in positive territory.

The BSE Bank index closed with increase of (2.86%) or 113.54 points at 4,087.39 on hopes lower interest rates may boost lending growth. Scrips that gained are IDBI Bank (6.42%), ICICI Bank (4.52%), Axis Bank (3.68%), SBI (3.65%) and Karnataka Bank (3.48%).

The BSE PSU stocks also joined the rally as advanced by (5.63%) or 116.79 points to close at 2,190.32. Main gainers are NIIT Ltd (9.52%), HCL Tech (7.19%), Oracle Fin (6.97%), TCS Ltd (6.57%) and Infosys Tech (5.64%).

The BSE FMCG index gained (2.73%) or 51.35 points to close at 1,935.15. Main gainers are United Spr (6.20%), Colgate Palm (4.77%), United Brew (3.49%), Dabur India (3%) and Britania In (2.97%).

The BSE Consumer Durable index gained (2.72%) or 40.21 points to close at 1,519.77. Gainers are Gitanjali GE (4.23%), Titna Ind (3.05%), Blue Star L (2.79%), Videocon Ind (2.30%) and Rajesh Export (2.20%).

Bharti Airtel ended up by 2.37%. The company is planning to restructure its businesses into nine arms with different CEOs. It is planning for reshuffle to expand into areas beyond its mainstream. Main aim behind the plan is to provide a platform to the talents. The company has already identified some of areas like entertainment, mobile commerce, internet, media, enterprise services and small & medium businesses.

HCL Technologies closed higher by 5.62%. The company has bagged a seven-year, $350-million total IT services outsourcing contract from media firm Readers'' Digest Association (RDA). Under the deal, HCL will provide applications development and maintenance (ADM) services and infrastructure support to the New York- headquartered publisher of the Readers’ Digest.
Tata Motors gained 2.97%. The company launches new Safari variant, i.e the new Gx variant. The current Safari DICOR range comprises three variants: Lx, Ex and Vx.
PNB advanced by 1.77%. The life insurer LIC of India is likely to sign a bancassurance agreement with Punjan National Bank. This would allow the bank to sell LIC’s products through its branch network across the country.
Mahindra & Mahindra surged 8.48% on reports the firm has slashed its planned capital spending by Rs. 500 crore as it is renegotiating contracts with vendors.

BHEL rose 2.16% on reports that it is in talks with a consortium of French nuclear technology provider Areva and Pune-based Bharat Forge for its proposed foray in nuclear forgings business.

Sensex above 8900


The market continued to scale up and closed firm above 8900 levels. Exhibiting a choppy trend in early trades, Sensex gyrated over 100 points after the opening bell and slipped below 8700 mark on sustained selling pressure to touch the day's low of 8697. Recovery started thereafter and the market rebounded into the positive territory in afternoon. Substantial buying in JP Associates, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Reliance Communications, DLF and ICICI Bank saw Sensex notch up significant gains in late trades and touch a new intra-day high of 8956. Sensex wrapped the session 187 points higher at 8944, while the 50-stock Nifty gained 58 points to close at 2777.

Market breadth, the number of advancing and declining stocks, was positive for the day. Of the 2,545 stocks traded on BSE, 1,611 stocks advanced whereas 847 stocks declined. Eighty seven stocks ended unchanged. All the 13 sectoral indices posted gains for the day. BSE Realty flared 5.35% up and BSE Oil gained 3.44%. Other sectoral indices were up 1-2% each. BSE HC and BSE IT ended in the positive territory with marginal gains.

Recovery in the market was led by JP Associates, which shot up by 8.96% at Rs77.25. Among the other major gainers, Mahindra & Mahindra advanced by 8.48% at Rs374.05, Ranbaxy Laboratories moved up by 6.82% at Rs147.95, Reliance Industries added 3.45% at Rs1,327, DLF scaled 6.16% at Rs161.95 and ICICI Bank jumped 4.52% at Rs322.65. Select index stocks witnessed selling pressure. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries dropped 2.05% at Rs1,000.85. Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.90% at Rs698.85, Grasim Industries declined by 1.03% at Rs1477.90, Infosys Technologies lost 0.62% at Rs1,288.25 and Reliance Infrastructure slipped 0.41% at Rs464.75.

Over 2.09 crore shares of Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) changed hands on BSE followed by Unitech (1.38 crore shares), Pennar Industries (1.32 crore shares), Satyam Computer Services (1.20 crore shares) and Suzlon Energy (97 lakh shares).

Sensex up nearly 10% in three trading sessions


Firm global markets helped the domestic bourses log on gains for the straight third day. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL), realty, FMCG, metal, banking and auto stocks led the rally. The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 186.93 points, or 2.13%.

But the market was volatile. Signs of a recovery in the domestic economy, buying by foreign funds and higher Asian stocks
lifted the domestic bourses at the onset of the trading session. But the market soon came off the day's high as investors resorted to profit taking after last week's solid gains. The Sensex had jumped 5.17% in the week ended 13 March 2009, boosted by a strong global rally in world markets.

After hitting the day's low in mid-morning trade, the Sensex soon recovered in choppy trade. The market extended gains later as European markets, which opened after Indian market, surged.

The corporate advance tax payment for the fourth installment of 14 March 2009 is a mixed bag. As per reports RIL paid lower tax for the fourth installment. State Bank of India, Tata Steel and Bank of India have paid higher advance tax whereas Indian Oil Corporation has made a sharply lower advance tax payment. Tata Motors made no advance tax payment in Q4 March 2009 while Tata Consultancy Services paid lower advance tax.

Advance tax payment gives indication on the outlook on earnings. Thus if a company pays higher advance tax, it could indicate a good financial performance for the quarter and vice versa.

Companies have to pay 25% of their annual tax bill in the March installment. Despite the economic slowdown, the Income Tax department expects advance tax collections to be marginally better than the collections in the third quarter. Corporate India had paid Rs 45400 crore as the third tranche of advance tax by 15 December 2008, much lower than the Rs 54,900 crore companies shelled out in the third tranche a year before.

After heavy outflow over the past few days, there has been reduction in selling vigor of foreign funds. They, in fact, were net buyers on Friday, 13 March 2009. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth a net Rs 191.40 crore on Friday, 13 March 2009.

FII outflow in March 2009 totaled Rs 2084.80 crore (till 13 March 2009). FII outflow in calendar year 2009 totaled Rs 9025.80 crore (till 13 March 2009).

Meanwhile, there are signs that the stimulus packages announced by the government since December 2008 and an aggressive rate cuts announced by the central bank since October 2008 have started having some positive impact - lower interest rate have helped automobile sales rebound in the past few months. Interest rates have dropped drastically over the past few months.

A pick up in the production of consumer goods and capital goods point to a rise in investment and consumption demand. Government data released during trading hours on Thursday, 12 March 2009, showed consumer durables output rose 2.5% in January 2009, moving into positive territory after three months of decline on the back of high growth in automobile sales. The capital goods sector saw strong growth, with output rising 15.4%, led by an impressive expansion in production of machinery and equipment. The pick up in production in these two segments also indicates that there is an improvement in the credit availability to the industry.

Further, a large government spending plan may help pump-prime the economy. The economy will also get another stimulus in the form of a huge spending by the political parties for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. As per reports, around Rs 6,000 crore would be pumped into the system as political parties and candidates splurge on their campaign and the Election Commission pays a huge bill for conducting the election. And the main beneficiary would be the services sector that often spurs growth.

Another plus point is that prospects look bright for the Rabi harvest in contrast to the previous kharif harvest which saw coarse grains recording lower output. Agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy and if rabi output increases as has been projected, rural demand may rise in the coming months, though perhaps not as much as had been hoped.

A good news for corporate India is the extension of the deadline for buyback of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by nine months to 31 December 2009. The central bank made the announcement after trading hours on Friday, 13 March 2009. In December 2008, the RBI had liberalised the procedure for buyback of FCCBs by Indian companies, both under the automatic and approval routes.

Under the automatic route, some of the conditions for buyback of FCCBs were: value of the FCCB should be at a minimum discount of 15% on the book value; the funds used for the buyback should be out of existing foreign currency funds held either in India (including funds held in EEFC account) or abroad and/or out of fresh ECB raised in conformity with the current ECB norms.

Buyback FCCBs will help companies reduce liabilities. It will also ease concerns about the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations in the profit & loss account, to the extent of the reduction of the FCCBs. The recent steep slide in the rupee will increase in the cost of servicing overseas debt to the extent of the rupee's slide unless the company (which has overseas borrowings) has adopted an effective hedging strategy.

The sharp slide in rupee will also raise import costs for a number of Indian firms unless the companies adopts an effective hedging strategy. For those importers which also export, the negative impact will be lower. However, at a time when exports are slumping the cushion for such firms will be limited.

On the flip side, the rupee's fall will boost the topline of IT firms in terms of the domestic currency as IT companies derive a lion's shares of revenue from exports. Further, some exporters may also benefit as the weak rupee makes their products cheaper for the importer. As per reports, some of the top global retailers have placed orders worth Rs 700 crore for Indian textiles in the current calendar year so far.

European shares rose for a fifth straight session on Monday, led higher by financial stocks, as investor sentiment improved following further assurances over the health of the US banking sector. The key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were up by between 2.06% to 2.38%.

Asian stocks struck a one-month high on Monday as reassurances over the health of the US banking industry sparked a broad recovery in investor appetite for risk. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan rose by between 0.56% to 3.6%. South Korea's Seoul Composite fell 0.05%.

Executives from Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase said last week their banks had been profitable for the first two months of the year.

Trading in US index futures indicated the Dow could rise 79 points at the opening bell on Monday, 16 March 2009. US Stocks stayed positive for the fourth straight day on Friday, 13 March 2009, with the Dow gaining 54-points. Nasdaq and S&P 500 each rose about 5 points.

The global financial crisis has prompted governments from the US to China and Japan to widen measures to stimulate growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Sunday, 15 March 2009, said the risk of depression has been averted.

Group of 20 finance ministers meeting at the weekend pledged to combat the global recession and restore the financial system to health. The key priority now is to restore lending, a G- 20 statement on 14 March 2009 said.

The Bank of Japan is considering buying subordinated debt from banks, the Nikkei reported today. The purchases may help the banks offset losses caused by write-downs on shareholdings and bolster their capital, the report said.

The BSE 30-share Sensex was up 186.93 points, or 2.13%, to 8,943.54, its highest closing since 26 February 2009. At the day's high of 8,955.73, the Sensex gained 199.12 points in late trade. At the day's low of 8,697.46 Sensex was down 59.15 points in mid-morning trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 58 points, or 2.13%, to 2,777.25.

The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 3,490 crore, higher than Rs 3,230.11 crore on Friday, 13 March 2009.

Nifty March 2009 futures were at 2777.40, near the spot price of 2777.25. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment increased to Rs 48,027.96 crore from Rs 47,689.67 crore on Friday, 13 March 2009.

The BSE Sensex has risen 783.14 points or 9.59% in the past three trading sessions from a 3-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009. Yet, the Sensex is down 703.77 points or 7.29% in calendar 2009 from its close of 9,647.31 on 31 December 2008. The S&P CNX Nifty is down 181.90 points or 6.14% in calendar 2009 from its close of 2,959.15 on 31 December 2008.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong on BSE with 1622 shares advancing as compared with 879 that declined. A total of 62 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index (up 2.28%) and BSE Small-Cap index (up 2.2%), both outperformed the Sensex.

All sectoral indices on BSE logged gains. The BSE Realty index (up 5.35%), the BSE Oil & Gas index (up 3.44%), the BSE Bankex (up 2.86%), the BSE PSU index (up 2.84%), the BSE FMCG index (up 2.73%), the BSE Consumer Durables index (up 2.72%), the BSE Metal index (up 2.37%), the BSE Capital Goods index (up 2.26%) outperformed the Sensex.

The BSE IT index (up 0.4%), the BSE Healthcare index (up 0.81%), the BSE TECk index (up 1.73%), the BSE Power index (up 1.78%), the BSE Auto index (up 1.82%) underperfomed the Sensex

From the 30 share Sensex pack, 25 stocks gained while rest fell.

India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 3.45% to Rs 1,326.60. Reports suggest that the company might propose to sell or lease out its 1,432 petrol pumps to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), even as it will start reopening its outlets, shut a year ago today, 16 March 2009. Meanwhile, as per reports, RIL's advance tax payment fell 16.47% to Rs 370 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q4 March 2008.

PSU OMCs rose on slide in crude oil prices. BPCL, HPCL and Indian Oil Corporation rose by between 2.96% to 8.3%. Lower oil prices will reduce under-recoveries at the state-run oil firms on domestic sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene at a controlled price.

Oil prices fell to near US$44 a barrel in Asia on Monday after Organisation of Petrleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided not to cut production levels at its meeting over the weekend in Vienna.

FMCG stocks rose on defensive buying. Marico, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, United Spirits rose by between 1.15% to 6.2%.

India's largest electric equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 2.16% on reports it is in talks with a consortium of French nuclear technology provider Areva and Pune-based Bharat Forge for its proposed foray in nuclear forgings business.

Rate sensitive real estate shares rose on hopes lower rates will spur housing demand. DLF, Indiabulls Real Estate, Akruti City and Housing Development & Infrastructure rose by between 2.43% to 19.5%. Most of the realty deals including sale of commercial property and housing sales is driven by finance.

India's largest copper maker by sales Hindalco Industries rose 0.35% as it is seen benefiting the most from imposition of import duty by the government on Friday, 13 March 2009. In its bid to safeguard interests of the domestic producers, the government has imposed import duty on aluminium products imported from China. Aluminium foils will attract a safeguard duty of 22% while aluminium sheets will attract a duty of 35% with both applicable for 200 days. Safeguard duties are typically imposed over shorter time periods to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports.

Lately, the Indian markets had been flooded with cheap import of aluminium products from China thereby threatening the domestic producers who are already under pressure due to the demand slowdown and sharp fall in aluminum prices.

India's largest steel maker by sales Tata Steel rose 1.29% as its advance tax payment rose 92.41% to Rs 406 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q4 March 2008. Other metal stocks, National Aluminum Company, Sterlite Industries and Hindustan Zinc rose by between 0.51% to 4.29%.

India's second largest steel maker by sales Steel Authority of India rose 2.2% on reports the company's sales may improve in the current quarter.

Auto shares rose on hopes lower interest rates and fall in fuel prices would spur demand for vehicles which is mainly driven by finance. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors rose 2.97%. The company did not pay any advance tax in Q4 March 2009 compared to Rs 75 crore in Q4 March 2008. India's largest motorbike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors rose 0.33%. But India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.9%.

India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra spurted 10.79% on reports the firm has slashed its planned capital spending by Rs 500 crore as it is renegotiating contracts with vendors.

Banking shares gained on rally in bond yields and on hopes lower interest rates may boost lending growth. India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 4,52%. Its American depository receipts (ADR) was up 0.34% on Friday, 13 March 2009.

India's second largest private sector bank by operating income HDFC Bank rose 1.2% as its ADR rose 3.66% on Friday.

India's largest bank in terms of assets and branch network State Bank of India rose 3.65% after its advance tax payment jumped 27.64% to Rs 1810 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q4 March 2008.

Bank of India rose nearly 3% on reports it had paid advance tax of Rs 590 crore in Q4 March 2009, sharply higher than Rs 191 crore in Q4 March 2008.

Bond yields tumbled after the central bank announced a larger-than-expected buyback auctions after rejecting all bids at Friday's debt sale. The 8.24% bond maturing in 2018 was at 6.37%, compared with its previous close of 6.80%. The central bank said on Friday it would buy back Rs 20000-crore government bonds via auctions this week.

Lower bond yields or higher bond prices (the two are inversely related) will result in appreciation in the value of the bond portfolio of banks.

Outsourcing focussed IT firms gained on a recent sharp slide in a rupee. Meanwhile Infosys chief and co-founder Mr S Gopalakrishnan said on Sunday, 15 March 2009, the Indian IT industry would tide over the current downturn and might surpass the US in terms of having the largest number of IT professionals in the world in the next three years.

India's largest software services exporter by sales TCS rose 2.62% even as the company's advance tax payment fell 54.3% to Rs 53 crore in Q4 March 2009 over Q4 March 2008. The company said its promoter Tata Sons has pledged more than 12.06 crore shares or 12.33% of the equity capital of the firm.

TCS had Thursday, 12 March 2009, said it signed a multi-year IT solutions contract with German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG, one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers. The financial details were not disclosed.

India's fifth largest IT major by sales HCL Technologies rose 5.62% on securing a contract worth $350 million.

India's third largest software services exporter, Wipro rose 1.65%. Recently its unit Wipro Infotech won an outsourcing contract worth Rs 1,182 crore from the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). Its ADR jumped 2.8% on Friday.

But, India's second largest software services exporter Infosys Technologies fell 0.62%.

The Indian rupee was volatile. The partially convertible rupee was at 51.32 per dollar, off a high of 51.33, its strongest since 27 February 2009 and above its previous close of 51.48/50. The rupee had hit a record low beyond 52 a dollar recently. A weak rupee boosts revenues of IT firms in rupee terms as IT companies earn a lion's share of revenue from exports.

India's largest telecom services provider by sales Bharti Airtel rose 2.37% on reports the company will restructure its businesses into nine verticals under different chief executives, as it looks to expand into areas beyond its mainstay, voice telephony. It has already identified some of these verticals such as mobile commerce, entertainment, media, internet, enterprise services and small & medium businesses. The company will also announce a new reporting structure that will give these new business divisions flexibility and independence to innovate, develop and implement new technologies to address changing demands of customers, reports added.

India's second largest telecom services provider by sales Reliance Communication surged 6.74%. Reports suggest US-based American Tower Corporation is set to acquire Xcel Telecom, a telecom tower infrastructure firm founded by former BPL Mobile chief. Last month, there were rumours that ATC may buy a 20% stake in Reliance Communication's (RCom) tower unit 'Reliance Infratel'.

Aviation stocks rose after domestic air travel shown some revival signs after several months of double digit falls. Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet rose by between 3.15% to 17.16%. Domestic passenger traffic rose to 33.36 lakh in February 2009 compared to 33.26 lakh passengers flown in January 2009. However, passenger traffic saw an 8% fall in February 2009 over February 2008.

Ingersoll-Rand India was locked 20% upper limit at Rs 245.70 after the company said its board will meet on 24 March 2009 to consider buyback of equity shares.

EID Parry rose 18.37% after the company declared an interim dividend of 500%

Reliance Natural Resources clocked the highest volume of 2.09 crore shares on BSE. Unitech (1.38 crore shares), Pennar Industries (1.32 crore shares), Satyam Computer Services (1.2 crore shares) and Suzlon Energy (97.53 lakh shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Akruti City clocked the highest turnover of Rs 297.78 crore on BSE. Reliance Industries (Rs 233.09 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 189 crore), Reliance Infrastructure (Rs 186.56 crore) and Educomp Solutions (Rs 175.65 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

Market may gain further


Overnight gains in the US markets and positive opening in the most of the Asian indices may help the local market to add gains. However, bouts of high volatile moves and concerns of selling from FIIs could dampen the sprit of the market. Among the key indices, the Nifty has a strong resistance at 2760 and has a key support at 2680 levels in the near-term. The Sensex has a likely support at 8650 and may face resistance at 8900.

US indices posted gains for the third straight session on Friday, with the Dow Jones added 54 points at 7224, the Nasdaq was up 5 points at 1432.

Indian floats, barring few, gained marginally on US bourses. VSNL was the best performer and surged 8.90% while Dr Reddy's gained 5.97%. Wirpo, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank , Rediff and ICICI Bank were up around 0.50-3% each. However, MTNL, Patni Computers, Satyam and Infosys slipped around 0.30-5% each.

Global crude oil prices moved below $47 mark, with the Nymex light crude oil for April delivery lost by 78 cents to close at $46.25 a barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for April series advanced by $6.10 to settle at $930.10 a troy ounce.

Market may extend gains


The market may build last week's solid surge on signs of a recovery in the domestic economy, buying by foreign funds and higher Asian stocks. However, political uncertainty ahead of elections will cap upside in the coming months. The BSE Sensex jumped 5.17% in the week ended 13 March 2009, boosted by a strong global rally in world markets.

Corporate advance tax numbers for the fourth installment of 15 March 2009 will influence trade. The data will be out today. Companies have to pay 25% of their annual tax bill in the March installment. Despite the economic slowdown, the Income Tax department expects advance tax collections to be marginally better than the collections in the third quarter. Corporate India had paid Rs 45400 crore as the third tranche of advance tax by 15 December 2008, much lower than the Rs 54900 crore companies shelled out in the third tranche a year before.

After heavy outflow over the past few days, there has been reduction in selling vigor of foreign funds. They, in fact, were net buyers on Friday, 13 March 2009. As per the provisional data released by the stock exchanges, foreign funds bought shares worth a net Rs 299.23 crore on Friday.

Meanwhile, there are signs that the stimulus packages announced by the government since December 2008 and an aggressive rate cuts announced by the central bank since October 2008 have started having some positive impact - lower interest rate have helped automobile sales rebound in the past few months. Interest rates have dropped drastically over the past few months.

A pick up the production of consumer goods and capital goods point to a rise in investment and consumption demand. Government data released during trading hours on Thursday, 12 March 2009, showed consumer durables output rose 2.5% in January 2009, moving into positive territory after three months of decline on the back of high growth in automobile sales. The capital goods sector saw strong growth, with output rising 15.4%, led by an impressive expansion in production of machinery and equipment. The pick up in production in these two segments also indicates that there is an improvement in the credit availability to the industry.

Further, a large government spending plan may help pump-prime the economy. The economy will also get another stimulus in the form of a huge spending by the political parties for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. As per reports, around Rs 6,000 crore would be pumped into the system as political parties and candidates splurge on their campaign and the Election Commission pays a huge bill for conducting the election. And the main beneficiary would be the services sector that often spurs growth.

Another plus point is that prospects look bright for the Rabi harvest in contrast to the previous kharif harvest which saw coarse grains recording lower output. Agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy and if rabi output increases as has been projected, rural demand may rise in the coming months, though perhaps not as much as had been hoped.

Asian stocks rose, led by financial companies and automakers, on heightened optimism government stimulus measures will help revive global economic growth.

The global financial crisis has prompted governments from the US to China and Japan to widen measures to stimulate growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Sunday, 15 March 2009, said the risk of depression has been averted.

Group of 20 finance ministers meeting at the weekend pledged to combat the global recession and restore the financial system to health. The key priority now is to restore lending, a G- 20 statement on 14 March 2009 said.

The Bank of Japan is considering buying subordinated debt from banks, the Nikkei reported today. The purchases may help the banks offset losses caused by writedowns on shareholdings and bolster their capital, the report said

Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries left its production quotas unchanged at a weekend meeting. Oil prices tumbled as much as 5.2% to $43.85 per barrel in trading today.

Pre Market Watch - March 16 2009


Indian markets are likely to open flat, taking cues from global markets. Asian markets were trading positive in the morning led by financial stocks. Investor sentiments lifted on bank’s stabilisation hopes after G20 finance ministers promised to use all available tools to fight the global recession. The meeting of G20 finance ministers held in the UK over the weekend promised help for troubled countries and said they would use all the fiscal and monetary tools they had to alleviate the economic downturn. We believe the sentiments would be positive on hopes of banks stabilisation. The Sensex has supports at 8640 and 8560 and resistances at 8870 and 8980. The Nifty has supports at 2680 and 2650 and resistances at 2760 and 2780.

Pre Session Commentary - March 16 2009


Today domestic markets are likely to open positive as the US markets closed in green on Friday and majority of other Asian markets have also opened with phenomenal gains. There in no specific news that could drive the markets and therefore one could witness some profit booking. Amidst the profit booking pressures the day’s trade would shape up flat with volatility creeping in during the later trading session.

On Friday, the domestic markets opened with huge positive gap and further flung to achieve new highs for the week. The phenomenal gain in the US markets and the simultaneous positive sentiments prevailing in Asian and European markets helped the domestic markets to record biggest gain for the year 2009. This was no less than a celebrative day to close the week with staggering numbers. Buying was witnessed with strong huge short covering. Sectors like Realty, Metal, Bankex, IT and Oil & Gas gained phenomenally by 7.57%, 6.26%, 5.85%, 5.63% and 4.71% respectively. During the session we expect the markets to be trading positive with mild volatility.

The BSE Sensex closed high by 412.86 points at 8,756.61 and NSE Nifty gained by 101.80 points at 2,719.25. The BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap closed with gains of 75.96 points and 56.79 points at 2,640.36 and 2,934.069 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 8,793.21 and intraday low of 8,480.74.

On Friday, the US stock markets closed in green. During Friday’s trade investors booked profits as the markets rebound 11% during the previous three day’s trade. There was no positive or negative news to decide the market movements. Financial sector was the worst hit as it fell by 4%. The Federal Open Market Committee will meet on March 17-18 to make it monetary policy. The FOMC is likely to keep the interest rates at 0%-0.25%. On the other hand the January trade balance showed a deficit of $36 billion better than the expected $38 billion. The deficit is narrowing every month since July, thus exuding the contraction in the global trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed up by 53.92 points at 7,223.98, the NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) index grew by 5.40 points to close at 1,431.50 and the S&P 500 (SPX) grew by 5.81 points to close at 756.55.

Today major stock markets in Asia are trading mixed. Shanghai composite is low by 9.77 points to 2,119.07 along with Hang Seng that is trading higher by 186.19 points at 12,711.99 and South Korea''s Seoul Composite is up by 13.50 points at 1,139.53 Japan''s Nikkei is also high by 184.83 points at 7,754.11 and Singapore''s Straits Times is low by 16.62 points at 1,560.90.

Indian ADRs ended mixed. In technology sector, Satyam ended slightly lower by 0.56% along with Infosys by 0.31%. Further, Wipro gained 2.80 while Patni Computers closed down by 2.92%. In banking sector ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained 0.34% and 3.66% respectively. In telecommunication sector, MTNL dropped by 5.46% while Tata Communication advanced by 8.96%. Further, Sterlite Industries increased by 3.83%.

The FIIs on Friday stood as net sellers in equity and debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs 1,896.90 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs 257.80 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs 1,996.30 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. 262.20 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs (99.30) Crore and Rs (4.40) Crore respectively.

On Friday, the Indian rupee closed at 51.51/52, 0.67% stronger than its previous close of 51.88/89. The sky rocketing stock markets helped the appreciation of rupee on expectations of foreign money inflow.

On BSE, total number of shares traded were 26.67 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs 3,230.11 Crore. On NSE, total number of shares traded were 60.15 Crore and total turnover was Rs 9,671.81 Crore.

Top traded volumes on NSE Nifty – Unitech Bank with 31061499, ICICI Bank with 26088959 shares, Suzlon Energy with 18617022 shares, DLF with 16865228 shares followed by Bharti Airtel with 14719791 shares.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 916710 with a total turnover of Rs 11,860.33 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 456871 with a total turnover of Rs 11,956.44 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 1647863 with a total turnover of Rs 22,148.99 Crore and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 62250 and notional turnover was Rs 1,723.9 Crore.

Today, Nifty would have a support at 2,685 and resistance at 2,779 and BSE Sensex has support at 8,685 and resistance at 8,889.

Daily News Roundup - March 16 2009


NTPC plans power projects in Kazakhstan to secure coal assets.(Mint)

M&M cuts capex by Rs5bn for the next three years ending March 2012. (ET)

ITC, EIH, Leela Ventures, Royal Orchid in race for hotel projects in Delhi International Airport. (ET)

Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals plans to invest about Rs100bn in joint sector with other PSUs for the manufacture of a variety of products for plastic industry in the next three years.(BL)

NMDC set to enter into a JV with Kopano Ke Matla Investment Company, the investment arm of the Congress of South African Trade Unions for acquiring manganese, coal and iron ore blocks in South Africa.(BS)

iGate rejoins fray to acquire Satyam Computer.(ET)

Gokaldas Exports puts hiring, expansion plans on hold.(BL)

No tax concession on gains in Satyam Computer open offer.(BS)

Pantaloon sales jump by over 26% in February 2009 against sales in the same month last year.(ET)

MCX Stock Exchange seeks SEBI nod to offer equity trading; to have common ownership and management.(Mint)

United Nations is likely to terminate Satyam Computers contract awarded on a talent management project with the IT Company.(BS)

Federal Bank and Catholic Syrian Bank close to share swap deal. (BS)

Tata Steel records 47% increase in sales in February over the corresponding month in 2008, with long products registering a 65% increase. (BS)

JSW Steel’s crude steel production in February increased by 8.5%. (BS)

Satyam Computer Services’ call for registrations for the bidding process has receives over 100 requests from India and abroad.(BL)

DoT wants BSNL and MTNL to be kept out of the purview of the proposed National Offset Policy drafted by the Ministry of Commerce.(BL)

NVP India, the Indian arm of Silicon Valleybased venture capital firm Norwest Venture Partners, has invested about US$15 million for a stake less than 5% in OnMobile Global.(Mint) 

IC is likely to sign a bancassurance agreement with Punjab National Bank.(BL)

Staterun oil firms, led by flagship explorer Indian Oil Corp., are not interested in operating, leasing or buying the around 1,400 petrol pumps being idled by Reliance Industries.(TOI)

Reliance Communications plans data network with Alcatel.(TOI)

IDBI Bank, Federal bank and Fortis are set infuse Rs2.5bn in a threeway joint venture. (ET)

Sahara Group in talks with Apollo Hospitals for jointly managing its proposed hospital chain. (BS)

Omaxe has restructured about Rs4.5bn of outstanding debt and is in talks with public sector banks for further debt restructuring.(DNA)

Private PF trusts can actively manage funds in equities from April 1.(BL)

Uco Bank decides to set up 7 Rural Self Employment Training Institutes in Orissa. (BS)


Forex reserves fell by US$1.98bn to US$247bn in the week ended March 6.(BL)

Nine domestic airlines have reported close to a 7% decline in the number of passengers flown in February as compared to the same period last year.(BL)

The government is considering a proposal to provide additional capital to public sector power finance companies. (ET)

Oil firms raised jet fuel prices marginally by Rs158/kilolitre on an average.(BS)

RBI extended the deadline for completing buyback of FCCB by nine months to December 31, 2009.(BS)

World Bank to clear a US$2.6bn special loan package for India.(BS)

India’s total gems and jewellery exports declined 34.6% in February at US$1.2bn.(BS)

The latest statewise estimates suggest that the country’s sugar production in the current 200809 season (OctoberSeptember) will not touch even 16mn tonnes.(BL)

According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, exports fell by 7% YoY in February at 110,252 units.(DNA)

International Finance Corporation will invest close to US$1bn in India in the 12month period from July 2008June 2009.(BL)

Government to spend US$2bn annually till 2020 on drug discovery.(ET)

Sugar importsboth raws and whites even at zero dutyhave become unviable in the present scenario where the Centre is going all out to ensure that prices do not cross the Rs25/kg level at the retail end in the runup to elections.(BL)

Between December 26, 2008 and February 13, 2009, Bank lending fell 98% as compared to the same period a year ago.(DNA)

Cement companies planning units to be asked to use 25% fly ash. (BS)

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission is expected to come out with rules for pricing of power transmission between states in a couple of months to facilitate the entry of private sector companies in the sector.(DNA)

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority plans to enter power production for industrial consumers in Mumbai metropolitan region; may invest about Rs10bn on a gasbased power plant in the region.(BL)

Londonbased arm of India Infrastructure Finance Company is likely to get US$250mn from the RBI in the next few days as part of a financing arrangement for infrastructure projects within India.(BL)

TRAI’s recommendation to cut termination charges, which results in lower mobile tariffs, is violation of the election code of conduct.(ET)

Dream over, wake up to reality!


If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that is a big accomplishment.

Some cooling is sure to set in after a dream week for the bulls when the Top 10 Indian companies added nearly Rs200bn in market cap. There were always doubts regarding the revival in sentiment. The Indian economy remains in a rough patch. The silver lining of a sharp fall in inflation has already been factored in.

The markets may open flat and drift lower unless global cues are strong through the day. The domestic markets remain in a peculiar situation where arbitrage opportunities are given the miss for long. The large counters have been turning more volatile than the mid-caps or small-cap stocks.

Asian stocks are up led by financial companies and automakers. With lack of triggers, positive or negative, the main indices will be at the mercy of global cues especially from the US. This week, investors will await the outcome of Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting starting Tuesday. No rate cut is expected but the tone of the Fed will be watched very closely.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US government is laying the groundwork for an economic revival and that a "depression" can be avoided. He however acknowledged that a full recovery will take time and there are still obstacles. That's something you and I know well, isn't it?

AIG, said it released the list of trading partners, along with the sums they received, because the company "recognizes the importance of upholding a high degree of transparency with respect to the use of public funds." AIG said it made the announcement after consulting with the Federal Reserve, which has led the bailout of the company.

Among the other headlines in the media today:

Infosys is reportedly eyeing a US$200mn healthcare buyout.

TTSL-NTT DoCoMo deal faces regulatory spanner.

Reliance Industries may propose to sell or lease out its 1,432 petrol pumps to IOC. Earlier reports said it would be HPCL.

ONGC plans to invest Rs15bn more in onshore assets.

Bharti Airtel says it will restructure its business in to 9 arms.

DLF Metro says it will approach India Infrastructure Finance Company to seek lower cost funds for the Rs7.4bn project of building 6.1km of metro rail tracks in Haryana.

The Finance Ministry has accepted Unitech’s request to allow it to raise foreign capital through the automatic route.

Tata Steel declined to comment on a newspaper report that it had held informal talks with bankers on restructuring debt at its UK unit Corus Group.

Satyam winner may be barred from selling assets for three years.

Indian markets ended the week on a high as Friday the 13th turned out to be lucky for bulls. Both the key indices, the NSE Nifty and the BSE Sensex ended above the 2,700 and 8,700 mark respectively. Markets continued to catch up with the global indices in style. The US, Asian and European markets recorded smart gains and continued to extend gains.

The metals, banking and IT stocks were in demand also the mid-cap and the small-cap stocks attracted buying interest. The BSE Sensex surged 412 points to close at 8,756 and the NSE Nifty rose 101 at 2,719.

Among the 30-components of Sensex, 28 stocks ended in positive terrain and only 2 stocks ended in the red. Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC and L&T were among the major gainers. NTPC and Sun Pharma were among the major losers.

Shares of Dr. Reddy’s Labs advanced by 3.3% to Rs412 after the company won a U.S. court ruling that bolsters its bid to sell a copy of AstraZeneca Plc’s Prilosec heartburn drug without a prescription. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs425 and a low of Rs406 and recorded volumes of over 62,000 shares on BSE.

Shares of Strides Arcolab rallied by over 7% to Rs70 after the company announced that it terminated 'License and Supply Agreement' with KV Pharmaceutical Company, USA, due to the recent developments at KV Pharm which included recall of their products, regulatory actions, filing of a series of class actions by shareholders etc. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs76 and a low of Rs66 and recorded volumes of over 0.2mn shares on BSE.

Shares of Tata Steel gained by 7% to Rs166. According to reports, the company has held informal talks with bankers on restructuring debt at the Corus Group Ltd.

The parent company may ask its U.K. business, which owns Corus, to amend covenants on about 3bn pounds in loans for the acquisition added reports. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs167 and a low of Rs157 and recorded volumes of over 3.2mn shares on BSE.

Shares of Reliance Industries further gained by 6% to Rs1232 as the company is reportedly said to start producing gas from its field off India’s east coast by mid-April.

Reliance will start gas output from eight wells in the field, which may produce 5mn cubic meters a day, output may rise to 40mn cubic meters a day by August and peak at 120mn cubic meters a day,

The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs1294 and a low of Rs1212 and recorded volumes of over 1.4mn shares on BSE.

Shares of SRF gained by 0.6% to Rs71 after the company announced that it restarted its polymerization, spinning lines at Tamil Nadu plant. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs72.9 and a low of Rs70 and recorded volumes of over 0.1mn shares on BSE.

Shares of SBI surged by over 4% to Rs953 after LIC raised its stake in the bank by 2.12% to 9.16% through open market.

LIC acquired 13.46mn shares between November and March. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs955 and a low of Rs922 and recorded volumes of over 0.9mn shares on BSE.

The headwinds remain in place and it won’t take long for the mood to change from good to bad and then from bad to worse. How we wish we are wrong! Hate to sound so pessimistic at the end of a short and sweet happy week. But then we need to remind you, short spurts coinciding with some positive news keeps happening in a bear market.

SGX Nifty Live Update - March 16 2009


SGX Nifty currently at 2,730.0 trading +9.5 points

Dividend Yield Stocks - PSU Banks


Dividend Yield Stocks - PSU Banks

Lakshmi Vilas Bank


We recommend a buy on Lakshmi Vilas Bank from a short-term perspective. It is clearly visible from the charts of Lakshmi Vilas Bank that it was on an intermediate-term downtrend from September 2008 to early March 2009 low (from Rs 110 to Rs 51), forming lower peaks and lower tops. However, the stock found support at around Rs 51, a 52-week low and reversed its trend. The stock has been on a short-term uptrend from this low.

On March 13, the stock almost jumped up by 5 per cent penetrating its intermediate-term down trendline as well as 21-day moving average. The daily relative strength index (RSI) is rising in the neutral region towards the bullish zone and the weekly RSI has entered in to the neutral region.

Moreover, daily moving average convergence and divergence (MACD) is signalling a buy. The price rate of change indicator has entered in the positive territory indicating buying interest.

Our short-tern outlook on the stock is bullish. We expect the stock’s short-term uptrend to prolong until it hits our price target of Rs 67 in the approaching trading sessions. Traders with short-term perspective can buy the stock while maintaining a stop-loss at Rs 56.

Wall Street shows some signs of confidence


Indices post their largest weekly gains in months

US stocks were quick enough in responding to some announcements made in the Wall Street last week and the three major indices witnessed their largest weekly gains in quite a few months for the week that ended on Friday, 13 March, 2009. Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 – all gaining 9% to 10% in a week, is something, investors have stopped expecting in recent times.

All the major announcements during the week were related to banks. Banks (Citigroup, Banc of America and JP Morgan Chase) being profitable in US till date in 2009 also a word from Citigroup that it will not require additional funds from US government this year gave investors some reason to breathe a sigh of relief. Other than these, reinstitution of the uptick rule and suspension of mark-to-market accounting were the other market drivers.

During the week, investor Warren Buffet said that he is not sure about the US economy in the short term. But at the same time he said that he remained confident about the long term potential of US.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 598 points (9%) for the week to end at 7223.98. Tech - heavy Nasdaq gained 137 (10.6%) to end at 1,431.5. S&P 500 gained 73.2 (10.7%) to end at 756.55.

Strength in financial sector followed by consumer discretionary, industrials and materials sector helped the indices post huge gains for the week which mainly witnessed two days of good rally – one on Tuesday, 10 March, 2009 and Thursday, 12 March, 2009. the Dow gained 380 points and 240 points respectively on these two days. On Tuesday, Citigroup Chairman, Vikram Pandit said that the bank has earned profits in the first two months of 2009. On Thursday, BofA Chairman followed suit.

there was somme good news in the economic front also, mainly the retail sales data. The Commerce Department reported during the week that U.S. retail sales began the year 2009 much stronger than expected. It came after a disastrous holiday shopping season in 2008. Retail sales dropped 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, better than the 0.4% decline expected. More importantly, January's sales gain was revised much higher, to a 1.8% growth rate from the 1% increase estimated a month ago.

Retail sales are down 8.6% in the past year and had declined for a record six straight months before January's surprising gain. Sales had plunged 3.1% in December. The data also acted as some sort of market mover during the week.

On Friday, 13 March, 2009, stocks were a bit shaky earlier during the day but then showed solid gains in the second half. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher by 54 points at 7,223, the Nasdaq closed higher by 5.5 points at 1,431 and the S&P 500 closed higher by 5.8 points at 756. Other than financials, healthcare was a strong performing sector. Energy was the main laggard of the day.

Among major economic news at Wall Street on Friday, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 9.7% to $36.0 billion in January on an across-the-board decline in global trade flows. The drop was helped by a continued decline in oil prices and a sharp drop in exports.

In inflation-adjusted terms, the trade deficit widened slightly. Export volumes fell a record 8.6% in January, while import volumes fell 4.6%. The U.S. trade deficit was $59.16 billion in the same month last year. This is the sixth straight monthly drop in the U.S. trade gap, the longest string since the latest data series was started in 1992.

There were some activity in M&A area this week. Less than two months after Pfizer announced it will acquire Wyeth for nearly $68 billion in cash and stock, Merck and Schering-Plough announced they will merge their companies. Schering-Plough shareholders will receive 0.5767 shares of Merck and $10.50 in cash for each share of Schering-Plough.

In another set of merger news, it was reported today that Genentech and Roche are progressing toward a deal. As per reports, Roche is expected to pay $95 for each share of Genentech. Also, among impending mergers, Dow Chemical has agreed to pay $78 in cash for each share of Rohm & Haas.

On Friday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for April delivery closed at $46.25/barrel (lower by $0.78 or 1.7%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, crude ended higher by 1.6%.

On that day, the IEA said in the monthly report that global oil supply in February is estimated at 83.9 million barrels a day, down 1 million barrels from a month ago and 3.4 million barrels from a year ago. The agency also lowered its forecast for this year's global oil demand to 84.4 million barrels a day, 1.5%, or 1.2 million barrels, lower than a year ago.

For the year 2009, Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 are down by 17.7%, 9.2% and 16.2% respectively.

Crude ends marginally lower


Prices fall as traders think that OPEC will not cut production

Crude prices ended lower on Friday, 13 March, 2009. Prices rose earlier during the week as traders mulled over OPEC's forthcoming meeting at Vienna this weekend where the cartel is expected to decide another production cut to restore crude prices. But on Friday, traders had a negative feeling regarding the production cuts.

On Friday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for April delivery closed at $46.25/barrel (lower by $0.78 or 1.7%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, crude ended higher by 1.6%. For the month of February, crude prices had ended higher by 1.5%.

Prices had remained extremely volatile this week. While, prices had shot up by 11% on one day, it also lost almost 10% in two days of trading.

Prices reached a high of $147 on 11 July, 2008 but have dropped almost 68% since then. Year to date, in 2009, crude prices are higher by 9.6%. On a yearly basis, crude prices are lower by 58%.

OPEC has been trying to cut production consistently in order to step up prices from their current low levels. There has been conflicting reports in the market regarding the fact that OPEC is likely to reduce output in March, 2009. OPEC has already agreed to cut cartel quotas by 4.2 million barrels a day since September, equivalent to about 5% of global oil demand. The cartel is supposed to meet on 15 March, 2009 at Vienna.

On Friday, the IEA said in the monthly report that global oil supply in February is estimated at 83.9 million barrels a day, down 1 million barrels from a month ago and 3.4 million barrels from a year ago. The agency also lowered its forecast for this year's global oil demand to 84.4 million barrels a day, 1.5%, or 1.2 million barrels, lower than a year ago.

Earlier during the week, the EIA had reported in its weekly inventory report that crude inventories rose by 700,000 million barrels last week. Market had expected a decline of 1 million barrels. As per the report, refinery capacity utilization rate remained low at 82.7%. It also showed that inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for Nymex futures, fell for a fourth week to $33.6 million barrels.

The EIA report also showed petroleum demand has been falling. Total petroleum products supplies over the past four weeks, including gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, averaged 19.3 million barrels a day, down by 2.1% from a year ago. But gasoline demand over the past four weeks rose by 1.6% from a year ago.

Also at the Nymex on Friday, April reformulated gasoline rose 0.5% to $1.3529 a gallon and April heating oil lost 2.4% to $1.1972 a gallon.

Natural gas for April delivery ended at $3.932 per million British thermal units, down 1.6%.

Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex.

Bharti Airtel, Infosys, IDFC, India Telecom


Bharti Airtel, Infosys, IDFC, India Telecom

India Analysis


India Analysis

India Telecom - March 16 2009


India Telecom - March 16 2009