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Monday, June 22, 2009

Don't file your tax returns yet!


The devil, they say, lies in the detail. And here's one that threatens to derail the income tax (IT) return filing process. Individuals now need to mention a unique transaction number (UTN) against every tax deducted at source (TDS) entry.

The problem, though, is that infrastructure to generate UTNs is still not in place, leaving income tax assessees in a lurch as July 31, 2009, the last date to file returns for the financial year 2008-09, fast approaches. "Nobody can say whether the returns will be valid if filed without UTN," says Sandeep Shanbhag, a chartered accountant and director, investment and tax advisory, Wonderland Consultants.

In a circular dated May 21, 2009, Munesh Kumar, secretary, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), said, "The credit for any TDS...claim will be allowed...if the assessee quotes the relevant UTN for every TDS."Simply put, if a UTN is not mentioned against a TDS transaction then the tax already paid by the individual will be considered unpaid.

It then becomes necessary that companies, who deduct tax every month against salaries, provide employees with UTNs against these deductions. This UTN then needs to be mentioned in the Indian Income Tax Return (ITR) form that is used for filing tax returns.

"You won't get the tax credit unless the UTN is quoted. If they go ahead with the regulation, the person will have to pay the tax all over again along with the interest and penalty," says Shanbhag.

This logic will also hold for any TDS that a bank might have cut on interest earned on fixed deposit. Like employers, even banks will need to provide a UTN.

As per the May 21 circular, the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) is supposed to issue UTNs to the deductor of TDS (companies, banks) who, in turn, has to pass on the UTN to the deductee.

That, clearly, isn't happening anytime soon primarily because the change was introduced on May 21, 2009, nearly two months after the last financial year came to an end.
"We don't issue certificates in the middle of the year and the UTN number will be given only by May 2010," says KVS Manian, group head - retail liabilities & branch banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

None of the form 16s received from salaried clients has any mention of UTNs, say chartered accountants. "UTN is to be provided for the accounting year 2008-09.Everybody - banks, employers etc - has issued TDS certificates and form 16 as per the old law," says Ameet Patel, partner at chartered accountancy firm Sudit K Parekh & Co.

Aware of the problem, the CBDT is in the process of amending this rule. Shishir Jha, CBDT spokesperson, says, "Action is being taken to ensure that assessees do not face any difficulty. Individuals are requested to wait a week for clarifications."

Given the uncertainty, it is advisable to wait for a week or two before filing your IT-return, says Shanbhag. "We have 40 more days to go till July 31. So, when there is such a big issue involved, one should wait," he says.

via DNA Money

Bharti Airtel


Bharti Airtel

NSE Bulk Deals to Watch - June 22 2009


Date,Symbol,Security Name,Client Name,Buy/Sell,Quantity Traded,Trade Price / Wght. Avg. Price,Remarks
22-JUN-2009,ABAN,Aban Offshore Ltd.,C D INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD.,BUY,322138,896.40,-
22-JUN-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,121567,391.66,-
22-JUN-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,MBL & COMPANY LTD.,BUY,321133,392.34,-
22-JUN-2009,IFCI,IFCI Ltd.,ADROIT SHARE & STOCK BROKER PVT. LTD.,BUY,6653394,51.56,-
22-JUN-2009,ISPATIND,Ispat Industries Limited,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,BUY,7645401,22.79,-
22-JUN-2009,KALINDEE,Kalindee Rail Nirman (Eng,BP FINTRADE PRIVATE LIMITED,BUY,50621,197.66,-
22-JUN-2009,KALINDEE,Kalindee Rail Nirman (Eng,SUNEET LAL,BUY,69823,197.78,-
22-JUN-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,CLEAN FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD.,BUY,2361539,39.56,-
22-JUN-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,PACE FINANCIAL SERVICES,BUY,2666578,39.73,-
22-JUN-2009,PIRHEALTH,Piramal Healthcare Ltd.,FIDELITY INVST TRUST A/C FID ADVISOR MID CAP II FUND,BUY,2896034,310.00,-
22-JUN-2009,ABAN,Aban Offshore Ltd.,C D INTEGRATED SERVICES LTD.,SELL,322138,896.85,-
22-JUN-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,ADROIT FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,119967,390.87,-
22-JUN-2009,EVERONN,Everonn Systems India Lim,MBL & COMPANY LTD.,SELL,321133,392.50,-
22-JUN-2009,IFCI,IFCI Ltd.,ADROIT SHARE & STOCK BROKER PVT. LTD.,SELL,6653394,51.47,-
22-JUN-2009,ISPATIND,Ispat Industries Limited,JAYPEE CAPITAL SERVICES LTD.,SELL,8034171,22.78,-
22-JUN-2009,KALINDEE,Kalindee Rail Nirman (Eng,BP FINTRADE PRIVATE LIMITED,SELL,60070,197.66,-
22-JUN-2009,KALINDEE,Kalindee Rail Nirman (Eng,SUNEET LAL,SELL,69823,197.44,-
22-JUN-2009,KALINDEE,Kalindee Rail Nirman (Eng,T ROWE PRICE INTERNATIONAL INC A/C T. ROWE PRICE INSTITUTIO,SELL,146697,197.41,-
22-JUN-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,CLEAN FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD.,SELL,2361539,39.57,-
22-JUN-2009,NAGARFERT,Nagarjuna Fert & Chem,PACE FINANCIAL SERVICES,SELL,2744310,39.65,-
22-JUN-2009,PIRHEALTH,Piramal Healthcare Ltd.,GENESIS ASSET MANAGERS LLP A/C GENESIS INDIAN INVST CO LTD ,SELL,3013075,310.04,-

Asian markets kick off week steadily


Hang Seng, Nikkei hold the gains while Sensex, Strait Times close lower

Stock market in Asian region closed mostly higher on Monday, 22 June 2009 with some of them posting fairly sharp gains, despite of lack of trigger from Wall street and some early weakness. The mood remained quite cautious in most of the markets in the region as World Bank revised down in growth prospectus for the world economy.

The World Bank revised down global growth forecast in 2009 from - 1.7% to - 2.9%. US economy is expected to contract deeper by - 3.0%, down from - 2.4%. Euro zone is expected to contract by - 4.5%, down from - 2.7% while Japan is expected to contract by - 6.8%, down from - 5.3%. Outlook for emerging markets are mixed with Russia expected to drop - 7.5%, down from - 4.5% and Brazil to contract - 1.1%, down from 0.5%. However, China's economy is expected to expand 7.2%, up from 6.5% while India's economy is expected to expand 5.1%, up from 4.0%.

On Wall Street, stock indices finished a quadruple-witching Friday mixed, with tech stocks outperforming blue-chip names. After rising more than 60 points earlier in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished lower by 15.87 points, or 0.19%, at 8539.73. The S&P 500 halved its gains but still rose 2.86 points, or 0.31%, to 921.23. The Nasdaq Composite also pared its early winnings but still ended the day up 19.75 points, or 1.09%, to 1827.47.

In the commodity market, crude oil fell for a second day after the World Bank said the global recession will be deeper than expected, stoking concerns that fuel demand will remain depressed.

Crude oil for July delivery fell as much as $1.66, or 2.4%, to $67.89 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $68.47 a barrel at 11:37 a.m. London time. The contract expires today. Oil for August delivery, the more-actively traded contract, was at $68.75 a barrel, down $1.27.

Brent crude for August settlement was at $68.24 a barrel, down 92 cents, at 12:35 p.m. London time on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Gold fell to a one-month low in London as a stronger dollar and lower crude oil diminished the metal’s attraction as a hedge against a weaker U.S. currency and faster inflation. Gold for immediate delivery fell $8.95, or 1 percent, to $925.10 an ounce at 10:51 a.m. local time.

In the currency market, US dollar and Japanese Yen were generally higher as the week started, with Aussie and kiwi being hit most so far. Risk aversion seems to be driving the movements today as the World Bank revised down global growth forecast in 2009 and said prospects for the world's economy remained "unusually uncertain" even though there were signs of improvement in some countries. The World Bank also urged governments to be "vigilant" in planning for exit strategies.

The Japanese yen strengthened against major currencies on Monday after a government report showed that Japan’s business confidence improved in the second quarter and demand for services rose in April, adding to signs the country’s worst postwar recession is easing. The Japanese currency jumped to a 4-day high of 88.78 against the Swiss franc, 95.89 against the US dollar.

The Hong Kong dollar was trading at HK$ 7.7503 against the dollar. Actually The Hong Kong dollar is pegged at HK$ 7.8 to the U.S. dollar but can trade between HK$ 7.75 and HK$7.85 to the U.S. dollar.

In Sydney trade, the Australian dollar edged lower today as weaker commodity prices subdued demand for the currency. At the local close, the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.7990, down from Friday's close of $US0.8045.

In Wellington trades, the kiwi ended the day at US 63.95 cents, down from the US64.34c early today and little changed from the US63.85c on Friday. The New Zealand dollar today retreated from the US64.84c level it rose to during the weekend. The kiwi awaits some big events for this week with the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, and New Zealand current account data on Thursday and gross domestic product data on Friday.

The South Korean won ended at 1,274.5 won against the dollar, down 6.1 won from Friday's close. The local unit extended its losing streak to a fourth session as global demand for dollars increased due to rising oil prices.

The Taiwan dollar weakened against the greenback. The Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar as it was trading lower at NT$ 32.8980, up by NT$ 0.0200 from Friday’s close of NT$32.8780.

Coming back in equities, Asian share markets closed slightly higher though the mood was somewhat cautious after a mixed performance by Wall Street on Friday. Oil and resource stocks were on the decline in Tokyo, though mostly on the rise in Sydney.

In Japan, the stock index finished the choppy session higher, on tracking positive cues from other Asia pacific market. shares of financials, properties, and pharmaceutical shares led the market, after brokerages upgrade their outlook for Japanese banks, while oil and commodity stocks trimmed recent gains amid profit booking as investors waited for key US economic data such as home sales and durable goods orders to be released later this week.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average index climbed up 40.01 points, or 0.41% to 9,826.27, while the broader Topix index rose 3.51 points, or 0.4% to 922.48.

On the economic front, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a report that the services sector in Japan showed resurgence in activity in April. The tertiary industry activity index rose 2.2% month-over-month in April following an upwardly revised 2.8% decline in the previous month.

The Ministry of Finance and Cabinet Office survey data showed that the business sentiment index was at minus 22.4 in the second quarter, better than minus 51.3 in the previous quarter. The business survey index (BSI) of sentiment at large manufacturers stood at minus 13.2 in April-June quarter, compared with minus 66.0 in the previous quarter.

In Mainland China, stock index surged enduring gains for fourth straight day, driving the benchmark index to a 11 month high, with gains in financials and properties after World Bank reinforced the belief that the economy was improving after raising its forecast of the country's 2009 economic growth from 6.5% to 7.2% and Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated the government will pursue a moderately loose monetary policy to maintain growth in the world’s third-largest economy.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, jumped 0.55%, or 15.81 points, to 2,896.30, while the Shenzhen Component Index dumped 0.46%, or 51.58 points, to 11,190.71.

In Hong Kong, the stock market climbed, with broad based gains across in financials and properties after report China’s banks are boosting lending and on the city’s real estate outlook. Shares of energy and materials rebounded on the back of steady commodity prices. Exporters rose on U.S. reports showing jobless claims fell and manufacturing contraction slowed.

The Hang Seng Index leaped 138.62 points, or 0.77%, to 18,059.55, meanwhile the Hang Seng China Enterprise Index jumped 128.95 points, or 1.23% to 10,638.8.

On the economic front, the Census and Statistics Department said Consumer prices in Hong Kong remained flat year-on-year in May, after rising 0.6% in the preceding month

In Australia, the stock advanced, extending gains for second consecutive day, thanks to a firmer commodity prices and positive cues from other Asia pacific market. Financial stocks were modestly stronger while a fall in the price of crude held back the energy sector. Shares of miners and materials surged on the back of rebound in base metal prices. Retailers and healthcare shares were also in above the line on bottom fishing.

At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index surged 18.6 points, or 0.48%, to 3,912.2, while the broader All Ordinaries spurted 16.4 points, or 0.42%, to 3,910.8.

On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said new motor vehicle sales climbed 5.4%, seasonally adjusted, to 75,472 units in May, up from 71,626 units in April.

In New Zealand, equities commenced the first trading day in the positive terrain on Monday. The NZX50 advanced 0.38% or 10.64 points to 2794.91. The NZX 15 ascended 0.49% or 25.16 points to close at 5128.89.

On the economic front, the Securities Commission is highlighting areas of concern in financial reporting after reviewing financial statements of 24 issuers. The regular review by the regulator of investments comes at a time when the New Zealand Shareholders' Association has been writing to companies asking for more information about debt, including bank covenants. The commission also highlights the reporting of debt as a significant matter. It wants issuers to report any change in, or review of, funding arrangements and the impact on classification of debt and the going concern assumption.

In South Korea, stocks closed 1.18% higher Monday as institutional and foreign investors hunted for bargains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 16.37 points to 1,399.71.

In Singapore, the stocks index off an early high to finish the session lower, as investors booked profit amid cautious whether the global economy is headed toward a recovery, fueled by weakness in commodity prices in London and pullback in crude oil prices in Asian trade. Miners and manufacturers were hit by falling metal prices. Financials gave back early gains as caution prevailed ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates later in the week. The blue chip Straits Times Index stumbled 6.26 points, or 0.3%, to 2,266.92.

In Taiwan, stock market carried its weekend gains, as technology shares including LCD maker AU Optronics rose after the company announced a new venture with one of China's top TV makers Sichuan Changhong. The main Taiex share index consolidated its gains in second session as the Taiex index added 110.06 points or 1.77%, closing the day at 6341.21, strongest closing since last 12 June 2009 when market closed at 6448.23.

In Philippines, the stock market opened the week on a positive note, reversing the four days losses, assisted by the hefty gains registered by the key heavy weight indices, mainly the property indices, which escalated nearly 2%. Moreover, investor’s engaged in bargain hunting activities, which also dragged the PSEi higher. The benchmark index PSEi climbed 0.56% or 13.58 points to 2,411.88, while the All Shares index rose 0.35% or 5.43 points to 1,550.53.

In India, the key benchmark indices extended last week's losses tracking weak European stocks and lower US index futures. Volatility was immense. The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 195.67 points or 1.35% to 14,326.22. The S&P CNX Nifty was down 78.35 points or 1.82% to 4,235.25.

Elsewhere, Malaysia's Kula Lumpur Composite index went down 1.28% or 13.53 points to 1045.97 while Indonesia’s Jakarta composite index ended the day lower at 1975.03.

In other regional market, sharp gains from Anglo American shares didn't translate into a positive session for the broader European equity market on Monday, as oil producers came under pressure. On a regional level, the U.K. FTSE 100 index fell 1.17% or 50.91 to 4,295, the German DAX index lost 1.25% or 60.38 points to 4,779 and the French CAC-40 index declined 1.44% or 46.22 to 3,175.

On the economic front, ECB president Trichet urged governments in the euro region to start cutting down budget deficits. He said that simulative packages thus far have been "completely extraordinary" and are therefore "sufficient." He said, "There is a moment where you can't spend any more and you can't accumulate any more debt. I think we are at that moment." Also Trichet said that geo-political tension in Iran is a risk factor on the international economy. Iran is a part of a wider analysis that "would be associated with risks for the oil markets, not just because of Iran but because of the whole region."

On the data front, UK Rightmove House Prices dropped 0.4% month on month in June. Japanese BSI Large manufacturing index dropped 13.2 quarter on quarter in second quarter. Tertiary Industry Index rose 2.2% month on month in April. Main focus today is on Germany Ifo business climate, which is expected to continue to improve to 85 in June.

Cox & Kings India plans to raise $100 million


Through public issue in September 2009

British travel firm Cox & Kings is reportedly planning an initial public offer of its Indian arm Cox & Kings India in September 2009 to take on the burgeoning Indian holiday market.

Reports quoting Chairman Anthony Good said the company will issue shares equivalent to about 25% of the business, and expects to raise about $100 million.

Cox & Kings' Indian operations achieved revenues of around Rs 74 crore in 2008. The firm provided holidays for about 287,000 Indians in 2008.

BSE Bulk Deals to Watch - June 22 2009


Deal Date Scrip Code Company Client Name Deal Type * Quantity Price **
22/6/2009 532870 ANKIT METAL D. B. SECURITIES. PVT. LTD. S 290315 19.48
22/6/2009 511664 BGIL FL TEC JINESH BHATT B 55400 37.85
22/6/2009 511664 BGIL FL TEC SHINY GEORGE JOSEPH S 47732 37.85
22/6/2009 590061 BRUSHMAN IND SARSWATI VINCOM LTD S 100000 14.35
22/6/2009 507833 COMPUTER POI EPOCH MERCANTILES PVT LTD B 63174 5.26
22/6/2009 531270 DAZZEL CONFI NILKANTHA DEY S 40000 3.65
22/6/2009 504000 ELPRO INTERN FARIDABAD COMPANY LIMITED B 20000 557.00
22/6/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS OPG SECURITIES P LTD B 99206 397.46
22/6/2009 532876 EVERONN SYS OPG SECURITIES P LTD S 99206 398.01
22/6/2009 532836 GREMAC INFRA SHRI DURGA FINVEST PRIVATE LIMITED S 87287 32.60
22/6/2009 516078 JUMBO BAG LT RUSHAB RAVJI PATEL B 81466 40.86
22/6/2009 516078 JUMBO BAG LT RUSHAB RAVJI PATEL S 75086 41.52
22/6/2009 516078 JUMBO BAG LT HEMENDRA AGARWAL S 55000 41.53
22/6/2009 524826 JUPITER BIOS FAIRDEAL INFIN SERVICES PVT. LTD. B 152258 65.96
22/6/2009 524826 JUPITER BIOS FAIRDEAL INFIN SERVICES PVT. LTD. S 153258 65.45
22/6/2009 522259 KALIN RAIL N SUNEET LAL B 62092 196.62
22/6/2009 522259 KALIN RAIL N MANSUKH SECURITIES & FINANCE LTD B 60305 195.50
22/6/2009 522259 KALIN RAIL N BP FINTRADE PRIVATE LIMITED B 69257 197.90
22/6/2009 522259 KALIN RAIL N SUNEET LAL S 62092 197.34
22/6/2009 522259 KALIN RAIL N MANSUKH SECURITIES & FINANCE LTD S 60305 196.47
22/6/2009 522259 KALIN RAIL N BP FINTRADE PRIVATE LIMITED S 70426 197.58
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL AMITA MAHENDRA PARMAR B 20000 7.49
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL NEHA H. SHAH B 25000 7.49
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL KAVITA DHAVAL SHAH B 25000 7.49
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL NARESH T DOSHI HUF B 20000 7.49
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL MEENA DOSHI B 20000 7.49
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL PUNEET ARORA S 19000 7.49
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL UMA KANSAL S 25000 7.49
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL SAHIL KAKKAR S 35000 7.49
22/6/2009 531731 KUVAM INTL RAJINDER BANSAL S 50000 7.49
22/6/2009 523696 MALAR HOSPIT INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL LIMITED B 84721 24.50
22/6/2009 523696 MALAR HOSPIT REXCIN FINANCE PVT LTD S 84125 24.50
22/6/2009 590011 MOVING PICTU-PMS DILIPKUMARVISHINDASLAKHI B 63431 3.84
22/6/2009 590011 MOVING PICTU-PMS BHARATH KUMAR BANAVARA ESWARAIAH S 91780 3.85
22/6/2009 532045 NEXXOFT INFO NARENDRA AMRATLAL AMIN S 65360 10.98
22/6/2009 531952 RIBA TEXTILE KUMKUM STOCK BROKER PVT LTD B 62703 66.92
22/6/2009 531952 RIBA TEXTILE PATEL NITABEN SHAILESHBHAI B 50500 67.42
22/6/2009 531952 RIBA TEXTILE KUMKUM STOCK BROKER PVT LTD S 62700 67.37
22/6/2009 526753 ROSELABS LTD NIRMALADEVI TRILOKCHAND AGRAWAL S 103850 10.67
22/6/2009 526133 SUPERTEX IND KUMKUM STOCK BROKER PVT LTD B 102432 55.58
22/6/2009 526133 SUPERTEX IND DHARMIN MANUBHAI PATEL HUF B 88028 55.42
22/6/2009 526133 SUPERTEX IND SHAILESH SOMABHAI PATEL B 89000 55.78
22/6/2009 526133 SUPERTEX IND KUMKUM STOCK BROKER PVT LTD S 90227 55.65
22/6/2009 526133 SUPERTEX IND DHARMIN MANUBHAI PATEL HUF S 88028 55.78
22/6/2009 526133 SUPERTEX IND SHAILESH SOMABHAI PATEL S 90000 55.33
22/6/2009 531874 VENUS VENT ABHI CAPITAL SERVICES LIMITED S 70000 54.01
22/6/2009 514470 WINSOME TEXT KUMKUM STOCK BROKER PVT LTD B 106270 47.22
22/6/2009 514470 WINSOME TEXT NITABEN SHAILESHBHAI PATEL B 106270 47.40
22/6/2009 514470 WINSOME TEXT KUMKUM STOCK BROKER PVT LTD S 106270 47.40
22/6/2009 514470 WINSOME TEXT MANISH RATILAL SHAH S 34000 47.30
22/6/2009 514470 WINSOME TEXT PATEL NITABEN SHAILESHBHAI S 35629 47.25

Post Session Commentary - June 22 2009


Domestic market pared all its initial gains to close the day on downbeat note on sustained selling pressure seen in key stocks. Market turned southward and continued to extend losses tracking lower European markets along with weak US index futures. Benchmark indices exhibited volatility during the trading as June futures and options contracts due to expire on coming Thursday. BSE Sensex ended below 14,400 level and NSE Nifty below 4,300 mark. On the sectoral front, Oil & Gas, Power, Realty, Metal, PSU and Teck stocks contributed to most of the selling pressure. However, FMCG, Capital Goods and Bank stocks remained in limelight as witnessed most of the buying from these baskets.

The market today opened significantly higher along with other Asian markets. Moreover, the US Markets closed mixed on Friday. There was slow news that kept the markets in a lackluster trade. Further, Indian benchmark indices lost ground soon after start and turned volatile ahead of the expiry of the derivatives contracts for June on coming Thursday. However, market recovered and witnessed a sharp rebound though once again slipped into negative during mid session. Stocks continued to extend losses after negative opening of European Markets led by the World Bank’s prediction that the global economy will shrink 2.9% this year, which will be a deeper fall than the 1.7% reduction it forecasted in March 2009. Finally, market extended last session’s weakness and closed with losses on account of intense selling pressure.

Among the Sensex pack 23 stocks ended in negative territory while 7 closed in positive. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained negative as 1,493 stocks closed in red while 1114 stocks closed in green while 68 stocks remained unchanged in BSE.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 195.67 points or 1.35% at 14,326.22 and NSE Nifty ended down by 78.35 points or 1.82% at 4,235.25. The BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with gains of 28.22 and 18.39 points at 4,930.51 and 5,599.57. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 14,668.40 and intraday low of 14,269.77.

Losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Tata Power (4.89%), Grasim Industries (4.57%), Reliance Infra (4.33%), Reliance (4.27%), Hindalco (4.15%), M&M Ltd (3.80%), NTPC Ltd (3.58%), Ranbaxy Lab (3.44%), Tata Motors (3.39%) and TCS Ltd (2.91%).

Gainers from the BSE Sensex pack is ICICI Bank (1.84%), ITC Ltd (1.55%), Maruti Suzuki (1.45%), L&T Ltd (0.96%), HDFC (0.31%), JP Associates (0.25%) and BHEL (0.24%).

On the global markets front the Asian markets which opened before the Indian market, closed mostly in green amid optimism about China. Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, said the economy was improving. He said Beijing will maintain an easy credit policy to support growth. Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Seoul Composite closed higher by 15.81, 138.62, 40.01 and 16.37 points at 2,896.30, 18,059.55, 9,826.27 and 1,399.71 respectively. However, Strait Times lost 6.26 points at 2,266.92.

European markets which opened after the Indian market are trading in negative. In Frankfurt the DAX index is trading lower by 54.63 points at 4,784.83 and in London FTSE 100 is trading down by 42.50 points at 4,303.43.

The BSE Oil & Gas index declined (3.33%) or 312.45 points to close at 9,074.74 on reports that Oil and Gas producers could be forced to pay royalties to the government on the basis of sale prices in the future that will have an impact on oil companies. Losers are Reliance Natural Resources (4.70%), Reliance Petroleum (4.30%), Reliance (4.27%), Cairn Ind (2.67%) and Cairn Ind (2.02%).

The BSE Power index ended lower by (2.47%) or 69.90 points at 2,761.86. Losers are Tata Power (4.89%), GMR Infra (4.84%), Reliance Infra (4.33%), NTPC Ltd (3.58%) and Reliance Power (3.13%).

The BSE Metal index decreased by (2.38%) or 262.84 points at 10,776.15. Scrips that lost are Nalco (4.84%), Jai Corp Ltd (4.30%), Ispat Industries (4.16%), Hindalco (4.15%) and JSW Steel (3.35%).

The BSE Realty index lost (2.33%) or 76.80 points to close at 3,213.80. Main losers are Anant Raj (5.00%), Sobha Dev (4.14%), Pheonix Mill (3.91%), Unitech Ltd (3.18%) and Housing Dev (3.13%).

The BSE FMCG index closed up by (0.49%) or 11.12 points at 2,272.51 on hopes that the government will focus on the rural sector in budget as United Brew (3.03%), Dabur India (2.05%), ITC Ltd (1.55%) and Marico Ltd (0.63%) ended in positive territory.

The BSE Capital Goods index advanced by (0.36%) or 43.91 points to close at 12,303.85. Gainers are Everest Kanto (9.17%), BEML Ltd (6.74%), Gammon Indi (4.98%), Punj Lloyd (3.67%) and Bharat Bijli (2.69%).

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) closed down by 1.62%. ONGC has made three oil and gas discoveries. It has found oil in the Cambay basin, oil and gas in Matar area in Vadodara district (Gujarat) and gas in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, according to the sources.

Reliance Communication ended lower by 2.85%. The company has started preliminary talks with China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile company, for a strategic alliance and possible equity participation of 5 to 6%.

DLF lost 2.27%. The company is to planning to raise $300 million through external commercial borrowing (ECB). The funds rose to be invested in its integrated township projects.

Tech Mahindra ended lower by 2.69%. The company which bought a controlling stake in Satyam has now rebranded Satyam Computer Services as Mahindra Satyam.

ABB Ltd dropped slightly 0.57% to Rs. 742.70. The company secured an order worth Rs 55 crore.

McNally Bharat Engineering Company Ltd spurted 4.95%, after the company bagged an order worth Rs 30.60 crore.

ABG Shipyard Ltd gained 3.25% to Rs. 212.95 after consolidated net profit surged 47.1% to Rs. 171.15 crore in the year ended March 2009 over the year ended March 2008.

Market down volatility high


The Indian stock market was once again subject to strong volatile moves, swinging nearly 398 points during intra-day trades, as the June series is to expire this Thursday on June 25. Throughout the session the market zigzagged between negative and positive zones, making investors edgy. After starting the day slightly higher at 14591, the index dropped nearly 100 points in early trades before frantic buying by mid-morning trades helped the index erase all its losses and gain around 200 points to touch an intra-day high of 14668. However, the market failed to sustain the early optimism and drifted into negative territory in noon trades, with the index crashing the 14300 mark on hectic selling in oil & gas, metal, power and realty stocks. The Sensex finally dropped 196 points or 1.35% to close at 14270 while Nifty shed 79 points at 4235.





The market breadth was weak. Of the 2,675 stocks traded on the BSE 1,493 stocks declined, 1,114 stocks advanced and 68 stocks ended unchanged. With the exception of the BSE FMCG, BSE CG and BSE Bankex, all other sectoral indices were down by over 1-3% each. The BSE Oil & Gas, BSE Power, BSE Metal and BSE Realty lost over 2-3% each while BSE PSU, BSE CD and BSE Teck declined by more than 1% each.





Selling was rampant in several index heavyweight stocks. Tata Power at Rs1,107.40, Grasim Industries at Rs2,140.35, Reliance Infrastructure at Rs1,207.60, Reliance Industries at Rs1,952.45 and Hindalco Industries at Rs84.35 slumped by over 4% each. Among other major laggards, Mahindra & Mahindra shed 3.80% at Rs709.30, National Thermal Power Corporation plunged 3.58% at Rs191, Ranbaxy Laboratories crumbled 3.44% to Rs270.55, Tata Motors declined 3.39% to Rs333.60, Tata Consultancy Services dropped 2.91% to Rs369.75, Reliance Communications tumbled 2.85% to Rs296.45 and DLF fell by 2.27% to Rs323.05. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, ACC and HDFC Bank shed around 1-2% each. Select counters however managed to buck the downtrend and ended in the green. ICICI Bank rose 1.84% at Rs729.90, ITC moved up by 1.55% at Rs202.80, Maruti Suzuki India added 1.45% at Rs1,062.45 and HDFC ended marginally higher at Rs2,294.70.




Over 3.39 crore shares of Cals Refineries changed hands on the BSE followed by IFCI (2.46 crore shares), Unitech (1.65 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.50 crore shares) and Suzlon Energy (1.38 crore shares).

Stock-specific buying continues


The key benchmark indices extended last week's losses tracking weak European stocks and lower US index futures. Nevertheless, stock-specific buying was evident in rally in select stocks outside the two key indices viz. the Sensex and the Nifty. But volatility was immense. Stocks fell in Europe and US index futures dropped after the World Bank on Monday predicted Monday that the global economy will shrink 2.9% this year, a deeper fall than the 1.7% contraction it predicted in March 2009.

The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 195.67 points or 1.35%, off close to 340 points from the day's high and off close to 60 points from the day's low. Oil & gas, metal, IT, realty and auto stocks led the decline. The market breadth turned weak from a positive breadth earlier in the day.

Last week, the market had snapped a winning streak of 14 weeks. The BSE Sensex lost 716.05 points or 4.70% to 14,521.89 and the S&P CNX Nifty declined 269.80 points or 5.88% to 4313.60 in the week ended Friday, 19 June 2009.

Coming back to today's trade, volatility was high. The market surged in early trade tracking higher Asian stocks. A revival of the south-west monsoon and reports that the government has doubled the base price for the long-overdue auction of third-generation (3G) spectrum to Rs 4040 crore also aided the early surge. However, the market gave up all the gains and slipped in the red for a brief period before bouncing back in mid-morning trade.

After surging to the fresh day's high in mid-morning trade, the Sensex once again slipped into the red in early afternoon trade. The Sensex moved between positive and negative zone later. The market weakened in afternoon trade tracking lower European stocks. A strong rebound from lower level was witnessed in mid-afternoon trade. But the recovery proved short-lived and the market weakened again later.

Volatility may remain high ahead of the expiry of June 2009 futures and options (F&O) contracts on Thursday, 25 June 2009.

As per reports during trading hours on Friday, 19 June 2009, the government has doubled the base price for the long-overdue auction of third-generation (3G) spectrum to Rs 4040 crore. The Government will earn a minimum of Rs 36860 crore from the auctions which will help reduce the high fiscal deficit.

Meanwhile, the south-west monsoon, which had been stalled since 7 June 2009, revived on 21 June 2009 and is likely to cover more parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the weather department said on Monday morning. The revived monsoon may cover Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh by first week of July 2009.

A weak initial phase of the monsoon has stoked fears of fall in agricultural production and a surge in prices of essential commodities which may spur inflation. The country's monsoon rainfall during 1 June 2009 to 17 June 2009 was at 39.5 millimeter, 45% below the normal, the India Meteorological Department said on 18 June 2009. A weak monsoon in this season may cast its shadow on a likely recovery in India's economy. Rural demand has been strong in recent years due to good monsoon in the past few years.

The next major trigger for the market is the Union Budget 2009-2010. Many equity analysts have been raising earnings forecasts of India Inc on hopes that the new government will provide thrust on the infrastructure sector and push economic reforms to boost growth. Citigroup expects the economy to grow by 6.8% in the year ending March 2010 (FY 2010) and 7.8% in the year ending March 2011 (FY 2011).

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would present the budget on 6 July 2009. The Railway Budget will be presented on 3 July 2009 and the Economic Survey would be presented on 2 July 2009.

A comfortable victory last month for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in elections for the 15th Lok Sabha has raised hopes for economic reforms. Reforms virtually came to a halt in the past five years of the Congress-led alliance government at the centre, when the Communists provided support to the government from outside for a large part of the five-year term. Left parties are opposed to economic reforms.

Investor expectations from the new government are high. Investors expect financial sector reforms such as increase in the cap on foreign direct investment in insurance sector to 49%, from 26% at present.

Indian stocks have soared in the past three months on a view that ample global liquidity and a return of risk appetite will help India Inc help raise funds for expansion which in turn will boost corporate profits. India Inc has already raised almost Rs 5,000 crore from three qualified institutional placements (QIPs) so far in 2009 and announced plans to raise another Rs 20,000 crore.

But foreign funds sold shares last week after aggressively buying during the past three months or so. Foreign funds sold shares totaling Rs 1,711.90 crore in five trading sessions from 15 June 2009 to 19 June 2009. FII inflow in June 2009 totaled Rs 4,420.30 crore (till 19 June 2009). FII inflow in calendar year 2009 totaled Rs 25,739.70 crore (till 19 June 2009).

Meanwhile, the data on advance tax payments reported last week for the first quarter of the financial year indicated banks and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms have done well in the first quarter, but realty companies continue to perform badly. Automobile sector have also paid higher taxes this year, show the revenue department's initial estimates. Indian companies paid around Rs 23,000 croe in advance tax for the first quarter of FY 2010, almost flat at the previous year's receipts.

European shares fell on Monday, as weakness in energy stocks overshadowed gains in miners. The key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were down by between 1.35% to 1.59%.

A higher than expected reading of business climate index in Germany failed to lift spirits among investors. The German Ifo business climate index rose to 85.9 in June 2009 from a reading of 84.2 in May 2009, the Mannheim-based Ifo Institute reported Monday. Economists had forecast a rise to 85.3.

Asian stocks rose today as banks and electronics makers rose after the International Monetary Fund said it will lift its world growth forecasts, overshadowing declines among commodity companies on lower copper and oil prices. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were up by between 0.41% to 1.77%.

Asian stocks shrugged off a World Bank prediction on Monday that the global economy will shrink 2.9% in 2009, a deeper fall than the 1.7% contraction it predicted in March 2009. It also warned that international capital will continue to flow out of developing nations, with international capital flows projected to fall to $363 billion in 2009 from their peak of $1.2 trillion in 2007. The world has entered an era of slower growth that will require tighter and more effective oversight of the financial system, the bank said in a statement.

US futures reversed gains. Trading in the US index futures indicated Dow could fall 50 points at the opening bell today, 22 June 2009.

US markets closed Friday's (19 December 2009) session mixed after indices surrendered early gains. Nonetheless, financial stocks and tech rose in late trade. The rebound though was not enough to reverse the stock market's weekly loss of 2.6%, the first weekly decline in five weeks. The Dow Jones was down 15.87 points, or 0.2%, to 8,539.73. The broader S&Ps 500 index rose 2.86 points, or 0.3%, to 921.23 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 19.75 points, or 1.1%, to 1,827.47.

The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 195.67 points or 1.35% to 14,326.22. The Sensex rose 146.51 points at the day's high of 14,668.40 in early afternoon trade. At the day's low of 14,269.77, the Sensex fell 252.12 points in late trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 78.35 points or 1.82% to 4,235.25. Nifty June 2009 futures were at 4226, at a discount of 9.25 points as compared to the spot closing of 4235.25. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment was Rs 71,601.05 crore, much lower than Rs 79,597.86 crore on Friday, 19 June 2009.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 5,130 crore, lower than Rs 5,959.89 crore on Friday, 19 June 2009.

The Sensex has jumped 4,678.91 points or 48.49% in calendar year 2009. From a 3-year closing low of 8,160.40 on 9 March 2009, the Sensex has risen 6,165.82 points or 75.55%

Coming back to today's trade, the market breadth turned weak from a positive breadth earlier in the day. On BSE, 1,112 shares rose as compared with 1,498 shares that declined. A total of 70 shares remained unchanged.

From the 30 share Sensex pack 23 stocks fell and rest rose.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.57% and the BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.33%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The BSE FMCG index (up 0.49%), the BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.36%), the BSE Bankex (up 0.16%), the BSE Healthcare index (down 0.67%), the BSE IT index (down 0.97%), the BSE Auto index (down 1.11%), outperformed the Sensex.

The BSE Oil & Gas index (down 3.33%), the BSE Power index (down 2.47%), the BSE Metal index (down 2.38%), the BSE Realty index (down 2.33%), The BSE PSU index (down 1.73%), the BSE Consumer Durables index (down 1.56%), the BSE TECk index (down 1.42%), underperfomed the Sensex.

Oil stocks fell on reports oil and gas producers could be forced to pay royalties to the government on the basis of sale prices in the future rather than the present system of 'wellhead value', threatening profits of oil companies such as ONGC, Reliance Industries and Cairn India. The new method, which is now being examined by the oil ministry, could represent a fundamental overhaul of the system of calculating royalties, and boost revenues for the cash-strapped exchequer, weighed down by mounting deficits, reports suggest.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalisation Reliance Industries was down 4.27% to Rs 1,952.45. The stock declined extending last week's losses hit by an unfavourable court ruling on gas sales. The Bombay High Court has directed RIL and Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) to sign gas supply deal.

The court has asked RIL to supply 28 million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) of gas for 17 years at $2.34 per million metric British thermal unit (mmbtu) to RRNL. This is much lower than the price fixed by the government for gas sale from the RIL block in the KG basin at $4.2 million per metric British thermal unit. The lower gas sale price will result in lower-than-expected earnings from gas sales for RIL.

RIL's advance tax payment fell 7.65% to Rs 1,068 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008.

In January 2009, the Bombay High Court had issued an interim order saying Reliance Industries was allowed to sell gas at $4.2 per million British thermal units from its KG-D6 block in the Krishna Godavari basin off eastern India, pending a final judgment.

India's largest oil exploration firm by sales ONGC fell 1.62%. ONGC's advance tax fell 33% to Rs 890.50 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008. Cairn India fell 2.67%.

Lower oil prices also weighed on oil exploration shares. Oil fell towards $69 a barrel on Monday, extending the previous session's drop of more than 2%, as bearish sentiment over gasoline markets in the United States. US crude for July delivery fell 39 cents to $69.16. The fall in crude oil prices would result in lower realizations from crude sales for oil exploration firms.

Metal stocks reversed early gains on profit taking after a sharp surge in the past few months. Hindustan Zinc, Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel, Steel Authority of India, National aluminum Company fell by between 0.02% to 4.84%.

IT stocks fell on profit taking after recent rally triggered by reports the forthcoming Union Budget may extend the corporate tax holiday enjoyed by export-oriented units and software parks by three more years, as the government looks forward to clearing the air for companies in these segments reeling under a demand slump in key Western markets.

India's second largest software firm by sales Infosys Technologies fell 0.3% even as its American depository receipt (ADR) rose 2.52% on Friday.

India's largest software services exporter by sales TCS fell 2.91%. TCS's advance tax payment fell 33.33% to Rs 50 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008. India's third largest software services exporter by sales Wipro fell 0.63% as its ADR fell 1.05% on Friday.

Auto stocks fell on profit taking after recent surge triggered by likely focus of the new government on the rural economy in the forthcoming budget. A rural focus may boost demand for vehicles in the rural market. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors fell 3.39%

India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra fell 3.8%. Its advance tax payment rose 25% to Rs 17.5 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008.

But, India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India rose 1.45%.

Rate sensitive realty stocks fell on profit taking after a recent surge triggered by expectations that stability at the Centre will attract more money from foreign investors into the sector which in turn will boost growth. DLF, Indiabulls Real Estate, Unitech, Akruti City fell by between 2.21% to 3.18%.

Unitech and Indiabulls Real Estate, have already raised funds through qualified institutional placements (QIPs). A number of other realty funds have decided to raised funds by way of QIPs. The promoters of DLF last month sold a 10% stake in the secondary equity markets.

Bank stocks fell on profit taking after recent gains triggered by higher advance tax payment in Q1 June 2009. Higher advance tax numbers indicate good Q1 June 2009 results. India's biggest bank in terms of branch network State Bank of India (SBI) fell 1.72% to Rs 1,694.75. The stock came off the day's high of Rs 1,759.50. The boards of State Bank of India and its associate State Bank of Indore have approved an acquisition of the latter by the former. State Bank of India has already absorbed State Bank of Saurashtra and has said it is progressively looking to merge its other associate banks.

SBI aims to keep interest margins steady and has no plans for any rights issue or share sale in any unit, Chairman O.P. Bhatt said on Friday 19 June 2009.

India's second largest private sector bank by operating income HDFC Bank fell 0.99% to Rs 1,540.20, off the day's high of Rs 1,568. Its ADR rose 1.67% on Friday. The stock turned ex-dividend today, 22 June 2009 for a dividend of Rs 10 per share. HDFC Bank's advance tax payment rose 16.28% to Rs 250 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008.

But India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 1.84% to Rs 726.90 as its American depository receipt (ADR) rose 3.15% on Friday, 19 June 2009. Nonetheless, the stock came off the day's high of Rs 747.80. ICICI Bank's advance tax payment rose 7.64% to Rs 366 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008. ICICI Bank is reportedly taking cost control measures that could save the bank up to Rs 1300 crore in the year to March 2010.

India's biggest dedicated housing finance firm by operating income Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) rose 0.31%.

HDFC and HDFC Bank are reportedly set to reduce interest rates on term deposits by up to 0.25%.

India's largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro rose 0.96% as advance tax payment rose 15.79% to Rs 110 crore in Q1 June 2009 over Q1 June 2008.

India's largest electric equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 0.24% after company said on Monday it had got a contract worth Rs 105 crore ($21.7 million) from refiner Indian Oil Corporation.

Construction stocks rose on hopes the government may boost spending on the infrastructure sector. Nagarjuna Construction Company, Gammon Infrastructure, Hindustan Construction Company rose by between 0.29% to 2.06%.

Cement stocks fell on profit taking after a recent surge triggered on hopes the government may boost spending on the infrastructure sector. ACC, Grasim Industries, Ultratech Cement, India Cements fell by between 1.35% to 4.8%.

Shares of select firms whose businesses are associated with Indian railways on expectation of some positive announcement in the forthcoming Railway Budget on 3 July 2009. Kalindee Rail Nirman Engineers, Simplex Casting, Kernex Microsystems, Titagarh Wagons, Texmaco, Stone India, Hind Rectifiers rose by between 2.93% to 5.03%.

The newly seated Railway Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee will present the railway budget for 2009-10 in Parliament on 3 July 2009. According to reports, Ms Banerjee aspires to introduce populist measures in the rail budget amid the impact of Sixth Pay Commission and the economic slowdown.

Some healthcare stocks rose on hopes the government will give primary importance to healthcare segment and health of citizens. Ranbaxy's Laboratories, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Lupin, Sterling Biotech, Piraml HealthCare rose by between 0.37% to 5.99%.

Some FMCG stocks rose on hopes the government will focus on the rural sector in the forthcoming budget. FMCG firms derive substantial revenue from the rural markets. ITC, Marico, United Breweries, Dabur India rose by between 0.63% to 3.03%.

Cals Refineries clocked the highest volume of 3.39 crore shares on BSE. IFCI (2.46 crore shares), Unitech (1.65 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.5 crore shares) and Suzlon Energy (Rs 1.38 crore shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Reliance Industries clocked the highest turnover of Rs 317.53 crore on BSE. Reliance Capital (Rs 218.05 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 154.86 crore), Suzlon Energy (Rs 150.94 crore) and Reliance Infrastructure (Rs 135.55 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

Market may open positive


The market sentiment is likely to remain bullish following firm Asian markets in current trades and mix trend in US markets. The renewed buying interest in heavyweights and banking stocks may keep the bias positive for the day. Among the negative factors FIIs remained the net sellers in equities is likely to exert pressure on the investor sentiment. Among the key domestic indices, the Nifty could test higher levels in the 4360-4400 range and has a support at 4260. The Sensex has a likely support at 14350 and may face resistance at 14650.

US indices finished flat on Friday, the Dow Jones declined by 16 points at 8539.73, the Nasdaq moved up by 20 points to close at 1827.

The upsurge in both the domestic and US markets spurred the Indian ADRs trading on the US bourses. ICICI Bank led the pack with gains of 3.15% followed by Patni Computers gaining 2.86% while Infosys, Satyam, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, VSNL, Rediff and Dr Reddy surged over 1-2% each. However, MTNL and Wipro slipped and closed in negative territory.

Crude oil prices in the international market moved down, with the Nymex light crude oil for July delivery declining by a $1.82 to close at $69.55 per barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for August series surged by $1.60 to settle at $936.20 a troy ounce.

Weekly losses at Wall Street after quite some time


US stocks in search of direction

After quite a few weeks of rally, stocks at Wall Street registered losses for the week that ended on Friday, 19 June, 2009. Stocks had kicked of the week on a weak note with indices plunging in the first two days of the weeks and witnessing a mixed end during the rest of the week. Volume remained relatively light during most part of the week. Traders turned a bit cautious but everyone has started believing that the worst is perhaps over and things in US economy will get better from here. But all are still waiting for some better economic reports confirming their sentiments.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 259.53 points (2.9%) for the week to end at 8,539.73. Tech - heavy Nasdaq lost 31.33 (1.7%) to end at 1,827.47. S&P 500 lost 24.98 (2.6%) to end at 921.33. Nine of the ten sectors ended in the red led by energy, materials and industrials sectors. Healthcare was the only sector to end in the green for the week.

After weeks of fierce wrangling, the Obama Administration came out with the eighty five page proposal to redraw financial regulations. The main elements of the proposal included new consumer-protection agency to monitor credit cards and mortgages, tougher capital standards and a merger of two regulators for banks.

Materials stocks grappled with selling pressure during the early part of the week as basic commodities got knocked around by a resurgent U.S. dollar. The weakness among commodities was also easily visible among oil prices.

Stocks attempted to rebound the next day but failed. Industrial Production came in at -1.1% for May (consensus -1.0%), while the prior month was revised lower to -0.7% from -0.5%. That more than offset better-then-expected housing data, as Housing Starts came in at 532,000 in May (consensus 485,000) and Building Permits came in at 518,000 for the month (consensus 508,000).

Among the other major economic reports expected for the week, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, 18 June, 2009 that continuing U.S. jobless claims took a big drop in the latest week that ended on 6 June, 2009, in a sign that fewer people are having trouble finding employment. Continuing claims fell by 148,000 to 6.68 million during the week ended 6 June, the lowest level in about a month. The four-week average of continuing claims rose, however, by 2,250 to 6.75 million. It was the first time continuing claims fell since early January.

In a separate report, the Conference Board said on Thursday that the recession is "losing steam" and a slow U.S. recovery should begin by the end of the year. The Board announced that the index of leading economic indicators rose 1.2% in May, the second straight increase. The leading index is up 1.2% in the past six months, the first increase since April 2007.

Among the earning reports for the week, Research In Motion reported earnings for its first fiscal quarter that jumped 33% on strong sales of the company's line of BlackBerry smart phones, beating Wall Street's estimates. But FedEx issued disappointing fiscal Q1 guidance.

Standard & Poor's lowered its ratings and revised its outlooks on 22 banks. This hammered US stocks further during the week.

In the US market on Friday, 19 June, 2009, the stock market surrendered an early gain but managed to reclaim a portion of its gains in mixed fashion late in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower by 15.87 points at 8,539.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index, ended higher by 19.75 at 1,827.47. S&P 500 ended higher 2.86 points at 921.23.

Though news flow remained relatively low, volume was unexceptionally high due to quadruple witching option. Late strength in the financial and technology sectors helped market combat with its weakness. But Dow ended in the red. The other two major indices managed to end in the green.

The technology sector acted as the pillar of support for most part on Friday. Microsoft acted as the leader but RIMM acted as the laggard. Microsoft acted as the leader after the company was upgraded to conviction buy list at Goldman Sachs.

In the financial sector, Blackstone Group was a standout after The Wall Street Journal reported that China Investment Corp. is poised to invest $500 million in a hedge fund unit of the investment services company.

After a full day of volatile trading, crude oil prices ended substantially lower on Friday, 19 June, 2009 at Nymex. The drop marked crude's fall for the first time in three sessions. Geo political tensions were offset by demand concerns and the same eventually ended lower. On Friday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery closed at $69.55/barrel (lower by $1.82 or 2.6%). During intra day trading, crude rose to a high of $72.3. For the week, crude ended lower by 3.3%.

In the currency market on Friday, the dollar lost ground as gaining global equity markets pointed to a rise in investors' risk appetite. The greenback has tended to lose ground as investors shift away from perceived safe-haven assets. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by more than 0.4%.

For the year 2009, Dow is down by 2.7%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are up by 15.9% and 2% respectively.

For the coming week, there are a few notable earnings releases, including Oracle and Monsanto. There will also be some important economic releases, including Existing Home Sales, Durable Goods Orders and the Final reading for Q1 GDP.

Market may open positive positive


The key benchmark indices may open in green tracking positive Asia. However, volatility may remain high ahead of expiry of June futures and options contract on coming Thursday. Recent selling by foreign funds may weigh on investor sentiment.

Asian stocks rose today as bank and electronics maker stocks rose after the International Monetary Fund said it will lift its world growth forecasts, overshadowing declines among commodity
companies on lower copper and oil prices. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan rose by between 0.1% to 2.03%.

The US markets closed Friday's (19 December 2009) session mixed after indices surrendered early gains. Nonetheless, financial stocks and tech stocks showed gains in this session's late advance. The rebound though was not enough to reverse the stock market's weekly loss of 2.6%, the first weekly decline in five weeks. The Dow Jones was down 15.87 points, or 0.2%, to 8,539.73. The broader S&Ps 500 index rose 2.86 points, or 0.3%, to 921.23 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 19.75 points, or 1.1%, to 1,827.47.

Back home, interest rates are falling thanks to ample liquidity in the banking system, low headline inflation which has now slipped into negative zone and a loose monetary policy stance of the Reserve Bank of India. However, inflation may rise if oil and metal prices which have risen sharply in 2009 continue to rally.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee recently said banks should provide credit at reasonable rates to spur growth, saying cuts in official rates by the Reserve Bank of India had not been passed on.

Meanwhile, the data on advance tax payments reported last week for the first quarter of the financial year indicated banks and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms have done well in the first quarter, but realty companies continue to perform badly. Automobile sector have also paid higher taxes this year, show the revenue department's initial estimates. Indian companies paid around Rs 23,000 croe in advance tax for the first quarter of FY 2010, almost flat at the previous year's receipts.

Foreign funds have sold shares last week after aggressively buying during the past three months or so. As per the provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 29.08 crore on Friday, 19 June 2009. Foreign funds sold shares totaling Rs 1,685.70 crore in four trading sessions from 15 June 2009 to 18 June 2009. FII inflow in June 2009 totaled Rs 4,446.50 crore (till 18 June 2009). FII inflow in calendar year 2009 totaled Rs 25,765.90 crore (till 18 June 2009).

On the back of selling by the foreign funds, market snapped a winning streak of 14 weeks. The BSE Sensex lost 716.05 points or 4.70% to 14,521.89 and the S&P CNX Nifty declined 269.80 points or 5.88% to 4313.60 in the week ended Friday, 19 June 2009.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would present the Union Budget on 6 July 2009. The Railway Budget will be presented on 3 July 2009 and the Economic Survey would be presented on 2 July 2009.

Indian stocks have soared in the past three months on a view that ample global liquidity and a return of risk appetite will help India Inc help raise funds for expansion which in turn will boost corporate profits. India Inc has already raised almost Rs 5,000 crore from three qualified institutional placements (QIPs) so far in 2009 and announced plans to raise another Rs 20,000 crore.

A comfortable victory last month for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in elections for the 15th Lok Sabha has raised hopes for economic reforms. Reforms virtually came to a halt in the past five years of the Congress-led alliance government at the centre, when the Communists provided support to the government from outside for a large part of the five-year term. Left parties are opposed to economic reforms.

Investor expectations from the new government are high. Investors expect financial sector reforms such as increase in the cap on foreign direct investment in insurance sector to 49%, from 26% at present.

Unveiling the agenda of the government, President Pratibha Patil in her speech addressed to a joint session of both houses early this month had indicated government's intension to divest stake in state-run firms. The government, however, intends to retain control over state-run firms and will continue to hold at least 51% stake. But some investors are concerned that the government's two key allies viz. the DMK and Trinamool Congress (TC) may oppose economic reforms.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee recently said there was a need to find ways to bring the economy back to higher growth path without increasing the fiscal deficit. He said the government would focus on infrastructure, agriculture and employment generating sectors to protect growth and jobs.

Pre Session Commentary - June 22 2009


Today domestic markets are likely to open positive as majority of Asian markets have opened in green. Banking and electronics stocks are on the surge path as the Japanese business confidence data showed improvement for the first time in the past three quarters and demand for services has inclined. The Sentiment among large manufacturers increased to -13.2 points compared with a record low of -66 three months ago. In the domestic arena banking stocks could be in the limelight.

On Friday, the domestic markets closed in green. The markets finally snapped the three consecutive day losses to close in green after a firm northward trading. The markets opened with a positive gap and managed to trade up until the last one hour trade when profit booking pressures pulled the benchmark indices to southward. There was a broad based rally across the markets and sectors like CG, Realty, Metal and IT gained remarkably by 4.58%, 3.13%, 2.81% and 2.32% respectively. Mid cap and Small cap also gained by 1.68% and 0.82% respectively. We expect the markets to be trading positive.

The BSE Sensex closed with a gain of 256.36 points at 14,521.89 and NSE Nifty ended with gain of 62.20 points at 4,313.60. BSE Mid Caps and Small Caps closed with gains of 81.87 points and 45.52 points at 4,958.73 and 5,617.96 respectively. The BSE Sensex touched intraday high of 14,559.08 and intraday low of 14,179.77.

On Friday, the US Markets closed mixed. There was slow news that kept the markets in a lackluster trade. The financial and Technology stocks managed to gain the momentum at the late trading session. The financial sector was a laggard during the opening trade however as the day advanced the sector closed with a moderate gain of 1.7%. Blackstone Group was in the limelight after the Wall Street Journal reported that China Investment Corp. is poised to invest $500 million in a hedge fund unit of the investment services company. In the Tech space Microsoft was the out performer after company’s stock was graded as Buy by Goldman Sachs. The US light crude oil for July delivery closed lower by 2.6% at $69.55 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed low by 15.87 points at 8,539.73 the NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) index closed up by 19.75 points at 1,827.47 and the S&P 500 (SPX) closed up by 2.86 points at 921.23.

Today major stock markets in Asia are trading positive. Hang Seng is up by 332.87 points at 18,253.80. Shanghai Composite is up by 26.131 points at 2,906.623. Japan''s Nikkei is trading high by 9.76 points at 9,796.02. Strait Times is also up by 13.01 points at 2,286.19. KLSE Composite is up by 5.09 points at 1,059.50.

Indian ADRs ended mixed. In the telecom space, MTNL was down 13.67% but Tata Comm was up 1.21%. In the IT space, Infosys was up 2.52%, Satyam was up 1.39%, Patni was up 2.86%, while Wipro was down 1.05%. In the Banking lot, ICICI Bank gained 3.15% and HDFC Bank was up 1.67%.In the other space, Dr Reddys was up 0.59%, Sterlite gained 0.33% and Tata Motors rose 1.68%.

The FIIs on Friday stood as net sellers in equity and debt. The Gross equity purchased stood at Rs 2,138.40 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs 100.70 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs 2,654.30 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs 318.10Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs (515.90) Crore and Rs (217.50) Crore respectively.

On Friday, the partially convertible rupee closed at 48.09/10 per dollar, 0.2% stronger than its previous close at 48.21/22. The local currency gained strength after the local stock markets closed positive after three consecutive day losses.

On BSE, total number of shares traded were 50.42 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs 5,959.89 Crore. On NSE, total number of shares traded was 105.95 Crore and total turnover was Rs 18,636.69 Crore.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 888288 with a total turnover of Rs 18,534.78 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 454913 with a total turnover of Rs 25,043.67 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 1524858 with a total turnover of Rs 33,539.34 Crore and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 42982 and notional turnover was Rs 2,480.07 Crore.

Today, Nifty would have a support at 4,379 and resistance at 4,432 and BSE Sensex has support at 14,615 and resistance at 14,865.

Asian stocks open negative


Asian stocks fell. Mitsubishi Corp., a trading company that gets more than half its profit from commodities, sank more than 2% in Tokyo.

Japanese benchmark index Nikkei fell 19.59 points, or 0.20%, to trade at 9,766.67.

Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index declined 14.54 points, or 0.08%, to trade at 17,906.39.

China`s Shanghai Composite increased 14.40 points, or 0.50% to trade at 2,894.89.

Taiwan`s Taiex index lost 6.03 points, or 0.10%, to trade at 6,225.12.

South Korea`s Kospi index sank 1.86 points, or 0.13%, to trade at 1,381.48.

Singapore`s Straits Times rose 0.41 points, or 0.02%, to trade at 2,273.59. (7.48 a.m., IST)

Weekly Report - June 22 2009


Weekly Report - June 22 2009

Mahindra Holidays IPO Analysis


Mahindra Holidays IPO Analysis

Daily News Roundup - June 22 2009


Reliance Communications in preliminary talks with China Mobile, for a strategic alliance and possible equity participation of 5 to 6%. (BS)

Government is considering the proposal to divest 10% stake in BHEL, says the Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.(BL)

DLF is close to raising US$300mn through ECB to invest in its integrated township projects. (ET)

ONGC and Reliance Industries are rumored to be the bidders for UK-based Addax Petroleum, which could be sold for £5bn.(DNA)

RNRL files a caveat before the Supreme Court to preclude the chances of an ex parte order on the gas-sharing deal it had signed with Reliance Industries. (BS)

Infosys eyes mid-ticket BPOs in US, Europe.(FE)

SAIL, Tata, JSW, Essar may face anti-dumping duty in Thailand. (BS)

Tata Steel has raised product prices by Rs500 to Rs750 a tonne for the second time in the last two months.(BL)

Sun Pharma gets USFDA approval for the generic version of Quinapril Hydrochloride tablets used in the treatment of hypertension and congested heart failure. (BS)

Pfizer charges Sun Pharma with another patent violation for generic version of Lyrica. (ET)

SBI in talks with the governments of Qatar and sovereign entities in Oman to set up a private equity fund. (ET)

Tech Mahindra renames Satyam Computers to Mahindra Satyam. (BS)

GMR Infrastructure consortium emerges as the lowest bidder for Chennai Outer Ring Road project worth Rs11bn. (ET)

Aditya Birla Nuvo and partner Sun Life Financial of Canada to invest Rs5bn in Birla Sun Life Insurance in the current fiscal (FY10) to finance JV’s growth plans. (ET)

Shipping Corporation of India shelves its plan to purchase four very large crude carriers worth US$320mn.(BL)

GSPC submits plan to develop KG-8 gas; development plan likely to cost US$1.7bn.(BL)

Air India asks its top executives to forego Jule. (FE)

Mahindra Holidays public issue price band fixed at Rs 275-325.(BL)

Mahindra Holidays & Resorts to add new properties and expand some of its existing resorts with the proceeds raised through its IPO. (BS)

IRB Infrastructure emerges as the lowest bidder for its first BOT project worth Rs12bn. (ET)

State Bank of Indore to be merged with SBI.(BL)

Paramount Airways has signed a MoU with Airbus Industrie to purchase 10 Airbus A-321 aircraft, with the option of buying another 10, at an estimated price of US$1.5bn.(BL)

Zandu’s FMCG business to be merged into Emami.(BL)

Future Group to venture into the real estate biz through a 50:50 JV with Sumit Dabriwal, Kolkata for building affordable, branded, ready-to-move-in homes. (BS)

UCO Bank proposes a 50bps reduction in its benchmark prime lending rate with effect from June 27. (BS)

GSPC is all set to revive its plans to raise funds from the primary market, to take a call on the IPO after the Union Budget. (ET)

Essar Group subsidiary Aegis is looking to acquire a BPO company in Africa to expand its presence in the region. (ET)

ICRA says is open to acquisitions in the KPO and IT space to boost its non-rating revenues in the coming years.(ET)

ESS Dee Aluminium plans to pump in nearly Rs2bn to add fresh capacity at India Foils Hoera unit. (ET)

Four Soft won a contract from Polar Speed Distribution Limited, for flu vaccine distribution. (BS)

Century Plyboards to replace Aztecsoft Ltd in NSE CNX 500 index with effect from June 23. (BS)

IOC’s refinery project at Paradip in Orissa to be operational from November 2012. (BS)

International Finance Corporation to give US$50mn loan to Apollo Hospitals for providing high quality services to smaller cities across the country. (BS)

Indian Continent Investment, promoter of Bharti Airtel hikes its stake to 6.53% by acquiring 4.90mn shares of the firm worth Rs4.02bn in two separate off market trades. (ET)

Dealers of Chrysler agree to sell M&M’s vehicles in the US. (BS)

Honda Siel Cars clarifies that the Rajasthan plant has not been shut down and the company’s plans for the next small car are on track. (ET)

Aditya Birla Retail chain plans to further roll out 80 stores this year, but may wind up 10-20 existing outlets as part of a clean-up.(DNA)

Tatas may scale down JLR investment plans.(FE)

Titagarh Wagons plans to buy stake in the sick wagon unit of the S K Birla Group, Cimmco-Birla. (BS)

The government asks Air India to cut the number of staff per aircraft as pre-conditions for bailing out the national carrier. (ET)

BK Modi and family to sell out their stake in Modi Rubber at a nominal price in the public-listed company to VK Modi. (ET)

Elusive monsoon to arrive in Mumbai and the western coast over June 21-23: says Met. (ET)

Foreign exchange reserves increased by US$2.4bn to US$263.6bn for the week ended June 12.(BL)

3G spectrum base price doubled to Rs40bn.(TOI)

DoT revives plan for waiving licence fee on rural fixed lines.(BL)

TRAI says there were 11.4mn new users in May slightly lower than 11.7mn new subscribers in April.(BL)

Open bidding in coal likely by year-end; Centre plans to set up regulator for the sector.(TOI)

Oil and gas producers could be forced to pay royalties to the government on the basis of sale prices in the future rather than the present system of ‘wellhead value’, (ET)

Shipping industry asks the government to set up special fund to help the industry finance projects. (BS)

Government extends stock limit on sugar till Jan 2010.(DNA)

Monsoon is likely to advance into Mumbai and adjoining parts of Maharashtra in two or three days. (BS)

The government plans to relaunch the eighth phase of bidding for oil and gas blocks under the NELP-VIII in the second week of August. (BS)

The government is considering a proposal to redefine exports of services in the service tax rules in the forthcoming Budget. (ET)

The BOA approved 23 SEZ proposals. (BS)

Tobacco shipment shot up by about 70% to exceed Rs3bn in April 2009. (ET)

Banks’ credit to realty sector expands in 2008-09.(BL)

RBI may look at reversing the easy money policy that it had adopted from September last following the global credit crisis.(BL)

Apparel exports fell by close to 10% in April this fiscal. (BS)

Wobbly weather on the Street!


Money is the opposite of the weather. Nobody talks about it, but everybody does something about it.

Though it is still early days yet, alarm bells are already ringing with monsoon playing hide and seek. In addition, there are fears that El Nino may make matters worse. One only hopes that a bad start to the monsoon doesn’t translate into a major agri crisis. That would really test the UPA’s economic management skills. We are already staring at a ballooning fiscal deficit and stretched public finances. A bad monsoon is the last thing we need at this stage when the economic recovery itself is in fits and starts.

Coming to the outlook for today, we expect a flat to slightly higher opening as global cues are not decisive. Moderate gains could come in later but one should brace for more volatility ahead of Thursday’s F&O expiry. Given that the Budget and corporate earnings are round the corner, things could get choppy. Key indices are likely to trade in a range. Trend in FII flows and fresh global developments will also be closely watched.

Technically, 4100-4150 is seen as a crucial support, but upside is capped as well given the uncertainty over Budget and concerns over lofty valuations. One event on the charts to keep an eye on is the impending crossover of the 100 DMA over the 200 DMA.

Results Today: Adhunik Metaliks, Ansal Infra, BGR Energy and Gujarat Industries Power Co.

FIIs were net sellers in the cash segment on Friday at Rs290.8mn while the local institutions pumped in Rs4.13bn. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net buyers at Rs2.13bn. On Thursday, FIIs were net sellers at Rs5.16bn in the cash segment. Mutual Funds were net buyers of Rs1.29bn on the same day.

US stocks continued their struggle for a decisive move on Friday as well, as traders remained cautious ahead of the next batch of quarterly corporate earnings and locked in some gains after a three-month advance.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 16 points, or 0.2%, to 8,539.73. The S&P 500 index added 3 points or 0.3%, to 921.23. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 20 points or 1.1%, to 1,827.47.

For the week, the Dow lost 259.53 points, or 3%, its first weekly loss in just over a month. The S&P 500 shed 24.98 points, or 2.6%, for the week. For the week, the Nasdaq fell 31.33 points, or 1.7%.

The US market was relatively quiet despite on Friday it being a "quadruple witching" day, as traders squared off positions ahead of big data due next week. The Federal Reserve will hold a two-day meeting, starting Tuesday. Besides, there will the bond auctions and economic reports on durable goods orders, home sales and personal spending and income.

Quadruple witching is a quarterly event in which stock index futures and options and individual stock futures and options all expire at the same time. It creates volatility in the underlying stocks, particularly toward the end of the session.

Since bottoming March 9 at a 12-year low, the S&P 500 had run up 40% through the week ended June 12. But US stocks closed lower this week on worries that the stock market rally may have outpaced any signs of recovery.

The blue chips closed in the red while the broader market eked out a small gain. The technology space bucked the trend with smart gains in bellwethers Apple, Microsoft and HP. Falling commodity prices weighed on the underlying stocks, keeping the blue chips in negative territory.

JPMorgan Chase led banks higher. The stock rose to the highest level in a week after the bank said that it will cost less to repay government rescue funds than some analysts estimated. Bank of America and American Express also gained, along with the broader financial sector. The KBW Bank sector index rose 2%.

Microsoft rallied after Goldman Sachs added the company to its "conviction buy list" and Apple climbed after releasing a new iPhone. Commodity producers fell with oil and metals prices.

Energy stocks were mostly down as a group after crude futures dropped 2.5%. Exxon Mobile and Chevron were the big losers.

In Friday's economic reports, the unemployment rate rose in nearly every state in the US in May, the government reported. One state - Nebraska - registered a decline and Vermont saw no change. For the full year, jobless rates were higher in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. However, stocks didn't react to the grim data as the labor market typically lags any broader economic recovery in the latter stages of a recession.

Apple's iPhone 3G S went on sale on Friday and was expected to sell as many as 500,000 copies over the weekend, according to Piper Jaffray. The 16-gigabyte version costs US$199 with a new contract with AT&T and the 32-gigabyte version costs US$299 with a new activation. Apple will also still sell an 8-gigabyte version for US$99. Apple shares gained 2.7%.

Late on Thursday, Research in Motion reported higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates and higher revenue that missed estimates. The BlackBerry maker also forecast current-quarter earnings that are above forecasts and sales at the low end of forecasts. Shares fell almost 5%.

JPMorgan added 2.4%. The bank will incur a one-time negative adjustment of US$1.1 billion reflecting accelerated amortization of the issuance discount on preferred shares sold to the government, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Novell surged 10%. The second-largest US seller of Linux software may be willing to sell itself, JPMorgan analysts said after meeting with Chief Financial Officer Dana Russell.

Carnival Corp. rallied 7.4%. Wachovia analysts recommended investors buy shares of the biggest cruise-line operator because of less pressure to cut prices. Yesterday, Carnival reported second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates and said discounting is starting to let up.

Wyndham Worldwide Corp. climbed 9.8% after the franchiser of Ramada and Super 8 hotels reiterated its second-quarter forecast. Wyndham said it expects adjusted earnings of 36 cents to 41 cents per share, compared with the average analyst estimate of 37 cents.

E*Trade Financial Corp. tumbled 12% for the biggest decline in the S&P 500. The online brokerage that has lost money for seven consecutive quarters sold shares at a 23% discount to yesterday’s closing price, diluting the value of existing shares.

Ciena Corp. gained 8.3% after the maker of fiber-optic network gear for communications companies including AT&T was rated "buy" at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

CarMax gained 17%. Its first-quarter profit dropped by much less than expected as a slump in sales and increased losses at the car dealer's auto-finance unit were nearly offset by higher profit per vehicle sold.

Hospira rose 5.8%. The specialty drug maker said a court granted it a summary judgment of non-infringement regarding Sanofi-Aventis' chemotherapy medication Eloxatin, and has tentative approval from the USFDA for the generic version of the product. Sanofi-Aventis' ADR added 1.4%.

Treasury prices inched higher, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.82% from 3.83% on Thursday.

US light crude oil for July delivery fell US$1.82 to settle at US$69.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for August delivery rose US$1.60 to settle at US$936.20 an ounce.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.

European shares ended higher for a second straight session on Friday, with mineral extractors and banks putting in strong performances. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose 1.3% to close at 208.28.

The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 1.5% to finish at 4,345.93, while the French CAC-40 index gained 0.9% to end at 3,221.27 and Germany's DAX index posted a small rise of less than 0.1% to close at 4,839.46.

Indian markets ended the week on a high as the BSE Sensex gained nearly 2% amid high volatility. Firm cues from the US and the Asian markets lifted the markets at open. Markets from there on turned highly volatile and slipped sharply. However, bulls staged come back staging a V-Shaped recovery towards the fag end of the session.

The Sensex surged 256 points or 1.8% to end at 14,522 after touching a high of 14,559 and a low of 14,178. The index had opened at 14,322 against the previous close of 14,265.

The NSE Nifty gained 62 points or 1.4% to shut shop at 4,314.

Asia markets ended in the green with the, the Hang Seng index rising 0.8% at 17,920 and Australia's S&P/ASX ended higher by 0.2% to 3,899. Nikkei index gained by 0.8% at 9,786.

Elsewhere in the Europe, stocks were trading higher as well. The FTSE index was up 1.8% at 4,357. The DAX index was up 0.4% at 4,853. CAC 40 index advanced 1.2% at 3,234.

Coming back to India, among the BSE Sectoral indices BSE Capital Goods index was the top gainer rising 5%, followed by the BSE Realty index up 3.6%, BSE Metal index up 3%, BSE IT index up 2.3% and BSE Bankex index up 2.2%.

In the Sensex, the major gainers were, Tata Steel, L&T, Reliance Infra, JP Associates, Ranbaxy, Tata Motors, Sterlite, BHEL and ITC. NTPC, M&M, ACC, Tata Power, Sun Pharma and TCS were the major losers.

Outside the frontline indices, the top gainers included Ispat Industries, Opto Circuit, Central Bank, Financial Tech, Glenmark, HCC and Educomp.

Among the big loser in the broader market were Akruti City, Tech Mahindra, TTML, Glaxo, Max India, and NMDC.

Shares of India Foils rallied by over 34% after resuming trading on Friday. The stock shot up to an intra-day high of Rs23.95 to finally end at Rs17.41. The total traded quantity was over 10.7mn shares on the BSE.

India Foils resumed trading on the BSE at Rs16.15 per share post the reduction in share capital. The stock had got suspended on September 19, 2008. It had hit a 52-week high of Rs30 on January 10, 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs10.31 on October 22, 2007.

Ess Dee Aluminium had acquired 90% stake in India Foils from the Vedanta group for which it paid Rs1.2bn.

India Foils is one of the largest producers of Aluminium Foil in Asia. The company has integrated manufacturing facilities and exports to over 35 countries globally.

Government announced on Friday that it has extended limits on the quantity of sugar by six months to January 8, 2010. The decision aims to control prices and curb hoarding, said the Home Minister P Chidambaram today.

The limit is on the amount of sugar traders can hold in a 30-day period.

The Prime Minister has also directed Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar to talk to chief secretaries of states and insist on implementing stock limits.

The uncertainly would continue to hinge over the Indian bourses. One should adopt a stock-centric approach. The market will remain in a consolidation phase in the near term. Budget could provide the next big impetus. At the same time, there could be some disappoints too.